WO2021116509A1 - Orthopaedic footwear article - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an orthopaedic footwear article comprising: a sole (5); and an upper (1) with a heel counter (9), toe box (4) and a tongue (2) that begins in the area of the toe box (4), extending from the sole (5), the tongue area establishing an open area that facilitates the insertion of a foot with an orthosis (3). The invention is characterised in that the open area comprises two lateral, inner, longitudinal elastic elements (6) attached to the inside face of the tongue (2) and of the toe box (4), which are designed to keep the tongue structure joined to the toe box and to help the orthosis to adapt to the internal profile of the footwear article, thereby providing a footwear article with a simple structure and, therefore, at reduced cost. In addition, the upper is provided with adjustable transverse closure elements that allow the upper part of the foot to be fastened and secured.

Description

ORTHOPEDIC FOOTWEAR

DESCRIPTION

Object and technical field of the invention

The present invention refers to an orthopedic shoe whose object is to allow a person who must wear an orthosis to have a suitable shoe in which the orthosis can be coupled with his affected limb, at an affordable price. Therefore, the invention falls within the orthopedic sector, and more specifically in the field of orthopedic footwear.

The invention is aimed at all users who wear some type of orthosis, especially those that involve the foot-ankle, including the tibial and femoral ones, which increase the volume of the foot, so they require special footwear that allows their attachment to the foot together with the orthosis.

The footwear of the invention can be adapted to users in wheelchairs, with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, sequelae of poliomyelitis, multiple sclerosis, or who sometimes have to regulate the pressure of the footwear.

Background of the invention

The orthopedic industry works and invests a lot of time and resources in orthotics for the benefit of the patient, looking for lighter materials, studying more ergonomic adaptation designs, evaluating more biomechanical structures to achieve maximum performance and maximum efficiency in the patient.

The conclusion is that all this does not reach maximum efficiency if there is no suitable footwear that accompanies these orthoses, that is to say that allows them to be attached to the footwear in such a way that at least it adapts to the needs of the user.

In most cases the circumstance occurs that the patient has a healthy limb and another affected one. Therefore, the footwear of the affected limb will need greater measures in length and especially in width, which allow increasing the capacity and accommodate the orthosis. On the contrary, in the healthy limb, only the user's current shoe size is required.

All this is a problem for the user and their families to find the right footwear.

In the current generalist and commercial footwear industry, the availability of references with the appropriate measures is not contemplated so that a footwear can be adapted to the disparate needs of a user wearing a lower limb orthosis, so it is very difficult to be able to use a general trade brand footwear in which you can properly fit and adapt the orthosis.

A widely used resource, by this type of patient, is to buy two pairs of shoes of the same model with different sizes, which implies double cost of footwear, and clinically wearing an unnecessary length of footwear on the affected limb, which in Sometimes it makes walking or reeducation of ambulation difficult in Rehabilitation treatments.

Another alternative proposed is to resort to custom footwear manufacturing, which implies aesthetic limitations, a long manufacturing time, an economic problem (since it is very expensive to manufacture custom footwear, around € 600) and a limitation to be able to wear a single pair of shoes seven days a week, and 30 days a month, until others can be done, which may prove to be unfeasible for the most disadvantaged people, since they are currently in the orthopedic services catalog The Ministry of Health does not contemplate the possibility of financing special made-to-measure footwear for patients wearing an orthosis, financing that is exclusively reserved for patients with structured club feet, significant club feet or other deformity that prevents the adaptation of conventional footwear , to which a financing of approximately € 370 can be assigned.

The orthopedic industry has taken into account all these problems and has started to develop more suitable footwear, especially for children.

The most used and demanded design at the moment is a model that is already manufactured by several companies, which is based on the fact that the footwear is open at the back, by which it is allows the introduction of the foot of the user with orthosis and is fastened to the foot by means of an adjustable closure device known as a BOA closure that closes the back of the shoe. These designs attach great importance to regulation at the level of the hindfoot (heel ankle) but little or no importance to that of the forefoot (toes and metatarsal joints).

This solution is not clinically successful, since it leaves the rearfoot area very vulnerable due to the opening of the shoe, not having an adequate buttress for optimal control of the orthosis in the user, which goes against the theory about the principle of the alignment of the lower limb that says that you should start to control, from the hindfoot of the foot.

This solution may be feasible in many cases and provide a solution to more users than a more general model, but it turns out to be a specially manufactured design, with a special BOA-type closure system, making it an economically expensive model (approximately € 125 ). This problem is greater in the case of children who wear some type of device, since they must renew their footwear continuously due to growth, which entails new expenses for the family, apart from those necessary for orthotic or physiotherapeutic treatment or of some external therapy that the patient requires, and that unfortunately in many cases is usually required by disadvantaged families.

Patent document FR 2692761 A1 can also be cited in which an orthopedic footwear is disclosed that allows the foot to be attached after having undergone surgery, from an elongation of the tongue at its bottom, so that it arises from the outsole on the toe cap of the shoe upper and allows said upper to overlap with the tongue, to close the upper part of the foot. The footwear also has adjustable closure elements.

Another example of this type of footwear is described in document CN203969385U for diabetic foot in which the tongue also has an elongation in its lower part, which arises from the sole at the toe of the shoe upper. It also allows the cut to overlap the tongue to close the top of the foot. The footwear also has overlapping elements and adjustable closures. The invention provides a shoe of the type of the two previous ones, which has the novelty that it includes elements that keep the tongue attached to the toe of the upper, which facilitate the adaptation of the inner contour of the shoe to the orthosis.

Description of the invention

The invention consists of an orthopedic footwear designed to couple an orthosis, which comprises a sole, and the corresponding cut with a buttress, toe cap and a tongue that originates in the toe area from the sole, so that this configuration establishes an open area that facilitates the introduction of a foot with an orthosis. The main novelty of the invention is that it is characterized in that said open area comprises two longitudinal inner side elastics, fixed on the inner face of the tongue and on the side of the cut, to keep the structure of the tongue attached to the toe of the cut, while facilitating the adaptation of the inner contour of the shoe to the orthosis. This configuration allows the coupling and adaptation of any type of orthosis inside the shoe.

In one embodiment, the tongue has a width that allows the cut to overlap the tongue to close the top of the foot. For this, said tongue has a width greater than that provided in the state of the art, around 1.5 cm on each side.

Additionally, the upper is provided with adjustable transverse closures that allow the closure and fastening of the upper part of the foot. These adjustable transverse closures, for example, comprise transverse bands with an adherent closure, which by means of a buckle, incorporated in the shoe upper, allow to regulate the closure of the shoe on the foot. The invention provides that the length of the transverse bands can be cut to adapt them to the different sizes of orthoses and feet of users. Combining these features with the overlap of the cut over the tongue, a better closure of the upper part of the foot is provided.

The toe cap comprises a volume greater than that established by the front part of the orthosis and toes, to facilitate their entry, while allowing visual control of how they are inserted and housed inside the footwear. To achieve this functionality, the elevation of the toe must be greater than that provided in the state of the art, at least 1 cm above what is established. Given that the foot that supports the orthosis is arranged at a different height than the one without orthosis, due to the thickness of the base of the orthosis on which the foot rests, it has been foreseen that the interior of the shoe is provided with a recess in the one that houses the thickness of the orthosis base, to compensate for this difference in heights. In the case in which the footwear comprises an insole, for example a removable anatomical insole, this recess is included in said insole, and in the case in which it does not comprise an insole, the recess is arranged on the upper face of the sole of the footwear. According to current otresis, their bases are usually 0.5 cm thick, so the depth of the recess must be of this same depth to allow the base of the orthosis to be accommodated and to keep both feet at the same height.

The shoe counter is rigid and comprises a surrounding structure of the back of the orthosis, the height of which has been configured to allow the back of said orthosis to be stabilized. This height has a higher value than conventionally established, which in the example is a 2 cm elevation compared to conventional footwear.

In short, the invention provides a wide last that makes it easier for the user to put on the footwear and allows the release of any pressure that may condition the behavior of the foot adapted to an orthosis in the forefoot, especially at the level of the metatarsals, which is the area widest of the foot, and where it flexes the largest conglomerate of bones in the entire human body with a large number of joints, which makes it one of the parts of the body with the greatest probability of injury, causing, for example, metatarsalgia, morton's neuromas , plantar papillomas, hallus valgus, etc.

Therefore, the described configuration has the advantage of providing greater opening versatility, which facilitates and reduces the difficulties in placement for both patients and caregivers. It also facilitates the adaptation and coupling of any type of orthosis inside the footwear.

Description of the figures

To complete the description and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, this specification is attached, as part part of the same, a set of figures in which, with an illustrative and non-limiting nature, the following has been represented:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a possible embodiment of the orthopedic footwear of the invention, in which an orthosis housed in the footwear has been represented in dashed lines.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the toe cap of the shoe in the previous figure, without the orthosis and with the tongue folded forward to clearly show its configuration and the arrangement of the longitudinal inner side elastics that facilitate the adaptation of the shoe to the usury foot.

Preferred embodiment of the invention

A possible example of embodiment of the invention is described below, with the help of the previously mentioned figures, in which the footwear comprises a cut (1) that is provided with a tongue (2), which is lengthened in the cut ( 1), providing a greater length of tongue (2), so that said tongue arises in the area of the toe (4) from the sole (5) of the footwear.

The tongue has a width configured so that the cut overlaps said tongue, so as to allow the upper part of the foot to be closed.

In addition, the internal part of the toe (4) has a greater height than what is conventionally established, to provide an increase in capacity in the toe area, facilitating the entry of the foot with the orthosis (3), and on all facilitating the visual control of how the orthosis and foot are inserted and housed inside the shoe. This increase in capacity establishes a greater opening of the toe in the area of the tongue, which is why the width of said tongue is increased on each side so that the cut overlaps with said tongue. This configuration considerably facilitates the introduction of a foot with an orthosis (3), at the same time that it allows the foot to be covered from its upper part.

Inside the shoe and in the open area, which establishes the tongue, it incorporates two longitudinal inner side elastics (6) arranged facing each other inside said shoe, and which are fixed on the inner face of the tongue (2) and the toe cap (4) of cut (1), in such a way that they keep the structure of the tongue attached to the cut and facilitate that once the foot is inserted with the orthosis, its contour adapts and fits the inner contour of the footwear.

To facilitate the closure of the footwear, adjustable transverse closures (7) have been provided in the middle part of the side of the upper and attached to it, constituted, for example, by adhesive-type transverse bands, such as sailboat, to close and regulate the closure of the footwear by means of buckles (8) incorporated in the upper of the footwear, which after passing through the buckle bend 180 ° on themselves and stick together. The length of the adjustable closures is proportionally adapted to the number of footwear, so it will vary according to the different numbers to adjust the width of the closure to suit each user, providing greater containment support in the closure.

The invention provides that the adjustable closures (7) have a certain length for the different shoe sizes. They can also present a configuration with the capacity so that it can be cut with simple scissors, facilitating its adaptation to the needs of each user.

The invention takes into account the possible difference in height between the foot that wears the orthosis and the one that does not wear it, a difference that is established by the thickness of the base of the orthosis on which the foot rests. To do this, the footwear is provided with an internal pocket (not shown) with a capacity corresponding to the maximum thickness of the thermoplastic at the base of an orthosis. This recess can be included in the removable anatomical insoles that some footwear conventionally includes, or, in the case that it does not include any type of insole, the recess is incorporated into the upper face of the sole of the footwear. In this way the two feet of the user are kept at the same height.

It has also been envisaged that the buttress (9) of the rearfoot of the shoe is rigid to maintain the stability and alignment of the orthosis especially laterally. In addition, the height of the buttress (9) also has a greater special measure than that of conventional footwear, to gain greater stability and control.

Claims

1.- Orthopedic footwear, which comprises a sole (5), and a cut (1) with buttress (9), toe cap (4), and a tongue (2) that originates in the toe area (4) from the sole (5), establishing the area of the tongue, an open area that facilitates the introduction of a foot with an orthosis (3); characterized in that the open area comprises two longitudinal inner side elastics (6) fixed on the inner face of the tongue (2) and the toe cap (4), configured to maintain the structure of the tongue attached to the toe cap and facilitate adaptation from the orthosis to the inner contour of the shoe. 2.- Footwear, according to claim 1, characterized in that the tongue comprises a width configured so that said cut overlaps the tongue, closing the upper part of the foot. 3. Footwear, according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the upper comprises adjustable transverse fasteners (7) of the upper part of the foot. 4 - Footwear according to claim 3, characterized in that the adjustable transverse closures (7) comprise transverse bands with adherent closure; that by means of a buckle (8), incorporated in the upper of the shoe, regulate the closure of the shoe. 5. Footwear, according to claim 4, characterized in that the length of the adjustable closures (7) is cuttable. 6.- Footwear according to claim 1, characterized in that the toe cap (4) comprises a volume greater than that established by the front part of the orthosis and toes. 7. Footwear according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a recess for the thickness of the base of the orthosis, selected from a recess provided in an insole, and a recess included in the upper face of the sole of the shoe. 8. Footwear, according to claim 1, characterized in that the buttress (9) is rigid. 9.- Footwear according to claim 8, characterized in that the buttress (9) comprises an enveloping structure of the back of the orthosis, with a configured height to stabilize the back of the brace.