Abstract A dorsal or anterior splint for supporting the wrist and hand joints and substantially limiting the movement thereof while permitting some effective functioning of the limb extremity. A spine-like rigid plate laminate of aluminum is surrounded by and covered on its front surface by a cushioning pad laminate of neoprene foam. A leather-like flexible skin laminate covers the back of the plate and the pad. All three of the laminae are adhesively bonded to each other. A continuous elastic loop bonded between the plate and the skin at the distal end of the splint is for holding the middle two fingers snugly against the pad. Three straps extend transversely outwardly from the skin laminate to pass around the arm, wrist and hand, respectively, and to releasably fasten back on the skin laminate to hold those body parts snugly against the pad. The spine-like plate can be deformed before applying it to the limb extremity, so that when it is so applied, it will support the arm, wrist and hand in other than mutually aligned relation where that is desirable. To apply localized but evenly distributed pressure on the limb between it and the spine-like plate, a stiff, flexible, resilient slab is adhesively bonded to the pad between it and the plate. Thumb screws are threadably mounted in the plate to bear on the slab to deform it to put localized pressure on the limb.
An orthopedic splint for an animal limb including an elongated rigid plate laminate lying in a substantially flat plane and having a front face and a rear face; a relatively soft pad laminate adhered to at least portions of said plate front face and covering said front face; fastening means including a plurality of straps fastened to the rear face of said plate and extending outwardly therefrom; said fastening means being of dimension and character to pass around said limb and to fasten adjacent the rear face of said plate thus to hold the pad in snug, contiguous relation to said limb and to hold said plate firmly against the pad and limb thus to substantially limit the movement of said limb; said fastening means including a leatherlike flexible skin laminate adhered to said plate rear face and three straps extending outwardly from said laminate and designed to pass around the forearm, wrist and palm of a lower arm extremity of a Homo sapien; a plurality of hand screws threadably mounted through the plate in alignment with the longitudinal axis of said plate; a stiff, flexible, resilient, elongated slab between said pad and said plate and in alignment with said hand screws; the slab being fixed against longitudinal or transverse movement with respect to the pad, and having a dimension in each direction less than that of the plate, said screws being turned down to force the stiff, flexible, resilient slab away from the plate to provide evenly distributed pressure along this splint.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
253 words
An orthopedic splint for an animal limb including an elongated rigid plate laminate lying in a substantially flat plane and having a front face and a rear face; a relatively soft pad laminate adhered to at least portions of said plate front face and covering said front face; fastening means including a plurality of straps fastened to the rear face of said plate and extending outwardly therefrom; said fastening means being of dimension and character to pass around said limb and to fasten adjacent the rear face of said plate thus to hold the pad in snug, contiguous relation to said limb and to hold said plate firmly against the pad and limb thus to substantially limit the movement of said limb; said fastening means including a leatherlike flexible skin laminate adhered to said plate rear face and three straps extending outwardly from said laminate and designed to pass around the forearm, wrist and palm of a lower arm extremity of a Homo sapien; a plurality of hand screws threadably mounted through the plate in alignment with the longitudinal axis of said plate; a stiff, flexible, resilient, elongated slab between said pad and said plate and in alignment with said hand screws; the slab being fixed against longitudinal or transverse movement with respect to the pad, and having a dimension in each direction less than that of the plate, said screws being turned down to force the stiff, flexible, resilient slab away from the plate to provide evenly distributed pressure along this splint.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
46 words
The orthopedic splint of claim 1 wherein said pad laminate extends out beyond the edges of the plate laminate in all directions; wherein said skin laminate completely overlies both the plate laminate and the pad laminate; and wherein all three laminae are bonded to each other.