Chiropractic massage table

Claim 1

A therapeutic massage table for providing musculoskeletal massage along a patient's spine, said table comprising: a top having sides and ends supporting the table top at a level above the floor, the table providing for support of the patient's body in a supine position on the top, the table top having an elongated opening formed therein between the ends, a carriage moveable between the ends of the table beneath the elongated opening in the top, a first support arm extending upwardly from the carriage and pivotally connected at its lower end to the carriage about a first pivot means that is fixed relative to the carriage, a second support arm extending upwardly from the carriage and pivotally connected at its lower end to the carriage about a second pivot means that is movable relative to the carriage toward and away from the first pivot means, the first support arm being pivotally connected near its upper end to the second support arm at a point between the ends of the second support arm, spring means biasing the lower ends of the support arms toward each other, massage rollers supported at the upper end of the second support arm and positioned so as to be extendible through the elongated opening for engagement with the back of a patient supported on the table top over the elongated opening, the massage rollers including two or more pairs of tandem-mounted rollers, each such pair being rotatable about an axis that is spaced radially outwardly from a common axis so that the pairs are rotatable as a unit, means for rotating the pairs of rollers about said common axis, and power means for moving the carriage and thus the rollers along the back of a patient properly positioned on the table, the spring means biasing the rollers toward the patient's body while providing for limited movement of the rollers away from the patient's body against resistance of the spring means.