Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to an exercise apparatus designed to assist individuals with limited mobility to exercise paralyzed limbs.
Description of Related Art
It has been reported that spinal cord injuries resulting in paralysis of some type affect more than 250,000 people in the United States. (See National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center). These individuals typically have a long term commitment to a wheelchair. Challenges are present for these individuals in order to maintain physical fitness levels. The sedentary lifestyle that accompanies spinal injury individuals can lead to secondary complications that include diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and atherogenic lipid profiles. Therefore, structured exercise activities should be included in the daily or weekly schedule to reduce the chance of these secondary complications.
Maintaining muscle tone or at least reducing muscle mass loss in the legs is a challenging problem for individuals with spinal cord injuries. Since the ability to move one's legs is limited or non-existent, having outside forces act on the legs to generate motion is very beneficial. Some attempts exist to have an arm and leg exerciser that uses the arm motion to rotate the hand cycle, that in turn drives the leg pedals causing the legs to move. One attempt is the Saratoga Spirit 690 Selectable Arm/Leg Exerciser. This attempt is limited to the individual being in the sitting position.
There have been several other attempts to address these exercise needs for those with spinal cord injuries, including U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,614. This patent discloses an exercise machine having a frame that extends outwardly beyond the backrest and a plurality of ramp members that are pivotally connected to the frame, so that the person confined to a wheelchair can back onto the ramp members and each will pivot toward the machine, thereby allowing the person confined to the wheelchair, to back up to the machine until their back is against the backrest of the exercise machine. However, this reference is limited in that its use is to an individual in a sitting position. Further, the footprint of this machine is great and it cannot be easily stored.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,685 is also a machine designed to be used while the individual is in the sitting position. Further, the construction of this apparatus includes weights that are carried by the frame making easy storage and transportation of this apparatus simply not practical. U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,228 also has a large footprint, is limited to the individual being in the sitting position, and does not allow for the exercise of the legs.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,530,932 is an upper body exerciser that includes a seat connected to a frame. A wheel is positioned in association with the frame, and pedals are configured to interact with a drive unit and the drive unit is operatively connected to a wheel. Hand pedals and crank arms are configured to rotate independently of each other, may be provided that enable further variation in muscle groups used and enhance the upper body exercise provided by the upper body spinning experience.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,494,450 is directed to an exercise device for use while performing a cardiovascular exercise such as walking or running on a treadmill, cycling on a stationary bicycle, or other cardiovascular exercise using a cardiovascular or other exercise device or machine, which provides the capability for unweighting or unloading in a variety of ways a desired portion of the person's weight supported on weight bearing elements of the cardiovascular exercise device or machine, and performing numerous resistance exercises and stretches. While offering overhead exercise options, it is not suited for an individual with a spinal cord injury.
There are several disadvantages with the prior art that include the inability for the individual to exercise while inclined on a table or other horizontal surface. Further, the prior art does not include an apparatus that can be easily removed from over a table, allowing the individual to easily mount the table, and be repositioned to allow the individual overhead exercise options. Further, the prior art does not include an apparatus to assist spinal cord injury individuals with exercise that can be converted from a sitting position to an overhead position. Further, the prior art does not include an apparatus to assist spinal cord injury individuals with exercise that can be easily stored and transported.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide for an exercise unit that is easily transportable, storable, and can convert from sitting exercises to inclined exercises.