US1026480A - Means for mechanically massaging the human body. - Google Patents

Description

- J. A. WA-RD.

MEANS FOR MEGHANIGALLY MASSAGING THE HUMAN BODY.

. APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 23, 1911. 1,026,480.

Patented May 14, 1912.

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JULIUS A. WARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MEANS FOR MEGI-IANICALLY MASSAGING THE HUMAN BODY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 23, 1911.

Patented May 14, 1912. Serial No. 645,604.

To all whom 26 may COMM-n Be it known that I, JULIUs A. WARD, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Mechanically Massaging the Human Body, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement for mechanically aiding in treatment by massage, manipulation, or kneading of the human body or parts of the same.

One of the advantages of my discovery is that in case of organic troubles of certain kinds where manipulation is required and the disease is in organs that are deep seated, I am enabled by my present improvement to cause the manipulation or kneading to reach said affected deep-seated diseased parts,

thereby increasing the circulation of blood and thereby obtain beneficial and desirable therapeutic results. It has heretofore been customary to use the bare hands lIl such manipulations and this is not only very tiring to the operator but has the further disadvantage that most of the 'force exerted by the operator is lost by skin friction, and further, some of the force is also absorbed by the muscular sheathing that protects the organs of the body. This absorption of force by the skin and muscles naturally reduces the amount of manipulation that finally reaches the organ to be treated, and it is to obviate this difliculty of absorption or loss due to the said friction between the hand of the operator and the body of the one being operated upon, that I have devised a system wherein the body of the individual to be operated upon is protected in the particular region where the kneading or manipulation is required, by means of a shield which is preferably made of a flexible and glossy material on the kneading surface, combined with a flexible clinging or adhering material on the part of said shield that goes next to the body of the individual. There may be one or more layers of material between the outer fabric and the inner fabric for the purpose of thickening the pad or shield where required. This shield is arranged in various shapes to conform to the part of the body to be treated and 1t 1s to be held in position over the exact region by means of suitable fastenings, in this instance indicated in the drawings by the well "rials.

A further advantage of my device is that I provide means whereby self treatment may be accomplished and at the same time eliminate a certain amount of laborious work in the way of a downward pressure upon the undulator for the purpose of getting the necessary force for manipulation, and the means whereby this is accomplished will be hereinafter described in detail.

The main and the most important feature,

however, is that this manipulating head must have a highly polished surface so as to have as little friction between the shield and the undulator as possible. Further, these instruments may be of various shapes and two of those which I have discovered to be the most useful in practice are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

A further advantage is, that to unify the body protecting shield, the component fabrics are stitched together, this stitching may also be arranged to indicate the direction of rotation of movement on the particular part to be operated upon, and this direction of rotation either to the right or left, may be indicated on the various shields to be used on the various parts of the body for various kinds of treatment.

By removing the tendency of friction be tween the undulator and the shield, a deep reaching agreeable efiect, or undulation upon the desired organs, is eifected, and in the case of abdominal treatment and with the proper direction of movement, the efiect is to stimulate the peristaltis of the alimentary canal and the lymphatics, and to accelerate the circulation of the blood.

I am aware that oestopaths manipulate the body by hand and usually through one of the under garments, but this garment is generally loose fitting and is apt to move with the hand or the movements of the fingers and thereby cause an irritation to the skin of the person being operated upon, and this is one of the unpleasant after effects which is entirely due to the direct friction on the skin. the loss of power due to movement of said garment.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows a partial outline of the human body with three different types of shield attached at three different places in varying positions. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the pads. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the kneading instruments. Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view of one of the shields showing it as formed of two fabrics. Fig. 5 is a partial section of one of the shields, showing a third or intermediate fabric. Fig. 6 is sectional view of another form of undulator head. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the shield taken on the line 2-2, Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 is shown an outline of the human figure having shields 1, 2, and 3, shown on various portions of the body. The abdominal shield 1 is shown as having straps 4, 5, and .6, for the purpose of firmly attaching the same to the body against movement during treatment. The arm pads 2 and 3 also have attaching devices of the same nature, although not shown.

In Fig. 2 is shown an enlarged view of the abdominal pad showing the leg straps 1 and 5 and the shoulder strap 6, and a portion of the buttock or waist straps 7 and S. It will be noted on all of these pads that a continuous stitching 9 is arranged on the surface of the shields in a spiral or sinuous manner. Thisstitching is for the double purpose of combining these shields together where they are made of several fabrics, and also indicating the direction of movement of the undulator, or the succession of pressure of the same. In the case of abdominal shields this lining or stitching is arranged to run from right to left which is the general direction of the intestines, the said abdominal shield being made large enough to cover the entire intestinal region. In the case of shields intended for protecting other parts of the body, the stitching may be varied in its direction to suit the specific requirements of the local treatment thereon. On the shield shown in Fig.2 is shown buckles 10, 11, 12, and 13, all of which are utilized to adjust their respective straps to the proper tension as shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 3 is shown one form of an undulator having a handle portion 13 and a detachable head portion 141-, the handle portion 13 having at one end thereof a cylindrical extension 15, the purpose of which will be described later. The head portion 1 1 may be attached to the handle portion 13 by being screwed into a like threaded socket in said head portion. While the handle por- A further disadvantage is in tion 13 may be constructed of some suitable material such as wood, I have found it an advantage to construct the undulator heads 14 and 17 of various materials for various treatments, ranging from hard highly polished glass, down to a more resilient or semi-hard rubber. The main requirement is that any of the said heads of various degrees of hardness have the highest amount of polish possible to the materials used.

In Fig. 6 is shown a sectional view of another style of undulator head which is substantially a cupped shaped member 17 having a threaded socket portion 18 for receiving therein the extension 16 of the handle 13, the edge of the cup portion 19 being utilized during manipulation.

In Fig. 5 is shown a fragmentary sectional portion of a shield comprised of an under adhering fabric 22, an outer non-frictional fabric 23, both of these fabrics being similar to that described for Fig. 1, but having another fabric or padding member 21 intermediately arranged therebetween. This extra material may be used upon persons of less physical vigor and is adapted to give extra protection against too harsh treatment.

In Fig. t is shown a fragmentary portion in section of the shield members 1, 2, and 3, and shown therein as being comprised of a dual fabric, said fabric being composed of an under adhering fabric 20, such as rubberized cloth, and an outer or smooth fabric 21, such as silk. Ordinarily the under fabric 20 may be composed of awoven cotton material, specially treated with a rubber compound, to make it adhere to the skin and the outer fabric may be composed of a smooth tightly woven silk orlike material, which, when used in conjunction with an undulator having a highly polished head permits of easy manipulation with a minimum amount of friction between said head and said fabric In Fig. 7 is shown a sectional view of the abdominal shield member taken on line 2-2, Fig. 2, and attached to the shield by means of buckles 25,26, 27 and 28, is shown an elastic cross-shaped member 29 which is comprised of two over-lapping members 30 and 31. These over-lapping members, as indicated in Fig. 2, have a small opening 32 centrally arranged at the intersection thereof, and into this opening is introduced the point 15 of one of the undulating members, such as is shown in Fig. 3, and the elastic members are then drawn up through the buckles 25, 26, 27, and 28, to a suitable tension, the undulator member 13 remaining in an upright position upon the shield. An adjustable pressure is then createdupon the undulator member 13 and with the said abdominal shield properly strapped into positiona patient may grasp the handle 13 and by moving the head 14 with a circular swinging motion and following the direction of the line of the stitches 9, the manipulator is enabled to treat himself properly and easily without the necessity of exerting an inward pressure.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a system of manipulation as described, a protective body shield adapted to be removably attached to the body, said shield being composed of a composite flexible fabric having an outer glossy surface, the under surface thereof being comprised of an adhering fabric.

2. In a system of manipulation as described, a protective body shield adapted to be removably attached to the body, said shield being composed of a composite flexible fabric having an outer glossy surface, the under surface thereof being comprised of an adhering fabric, and having an intermediate fabric therebetween.

3. In a system of manipulation as described, a protective body shield adapted to be removably attached to the body, said shield being composed of a composite flexible fabric having an outer glossy surface, the under surface thereof being comprised of an adhering fabric, and having an intermediate fabric therebetween, said fabrics being bound together by continuous stitchmg.

4. In a system of manipulation as described, a protective body shield adapted to be removably attached to the body, said shield being composed of a composite flexible fabric having an outer glossy surface, the under surface thereof being comprised of an adhering fabric, and having an intermediate fabric therebetween, said fabrics being bound together by continuous stitching, said stitching being arranged to indicate the direction of movement of manipulation thereon.

5. In a system of manipulation as described, a protective body shield adapted to be removably attached to the body, said shield being composed of a composite flexible fabric having an outer glossy surface, the under surface thereof being comprised of an adhering fabric, and having an intermediate fabric therebetween, said fabrics being bound together by continuous stitching, said stitching being arranged in a spiral or longitudinal manner to indicate the direction of manipulation thereon.

JULIUS A. WARD.

Witnesses:

H. D. PENNEY, FRED. J. DOLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G.

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