THUMB ASSISTANCE DEVICE FOR ACUPRESSURE

│ Technical Field │

The present invention relates to a thumb assistance device for acupressure, particularly a thumb assistance device for acupressure that is worn on the thumb to prevent hyper-extensibility or hyper-abduction of the thumb due to pressing when giving a massage or performing acupressure such that a long-time massage or acupressure is possible while preventing pain due to tension of joints and muscles and damage to the muscles.

│ Background Art │

Recently, with the interest in health increasing, as a chiropractic therapy that improves the functions of muscles, joints, and internal organs by relieving their changes and reduces stress, a lot of people have a massage that is one of medical adjuvant treatments or acupressure that is a chiropractic therapy that remedies changes in the body, improve health, or cures a disease by pressing predetermined portions on the body with the thumb or the palm.

The massage has been konwn to effectively treat insomnia, headache, blood and body fluid circulation dysfunction, physical functional disorder of muscles and joints, various types of neuralgia, dysfunction of sympathetic nerve, and functional disorder of digestive organs and urinary organs.
body frame, control internal secretion, and normalize internal organs.

The massage or acupressure, for which a lot of people have for health or cure reasons, is commonly performed by the thumb, in which the thumb can easily sense the affected parts with good sensitivity and appropriately adjust pressing strength, such that the most effective treatment is possible and the thumb has a basic and important role in giving the massage or performing acupressure to the body.

In the massage or acupressure, the affected part is pressed by the thumb as shown in FIG. 1, in which the force applied by the thumb is commonly divided into three pressing forces of 2kg (low pressure), 4kg (medium pressure), and 6kg (high pressure).

However, when giving the massage or performing acupressure as described above, particularly, when giving the massage or acupressure with a strong force of 6kg, hyper-extensibility (excessive extension) and hyper-abduction (excessive abduction) is applied to the thumb, causing load to be applied to the first knuckle 10, second knuckle 20, and the third knuckle 30 of the thumb, including the first joint 40, the second joint 50, the muscle, and the ligament of the thumb, thereby causing pain.

In general, in giving a massage or performing acupressure, the first joint of the thumb is maintained at an angle of 0˚ (hereafter, referred to as extension angle) and the second joint of the thumb is maintained at an extension angle of 20˚. However, when the thumb extends or bends at an angle larger than the above angles, that is, when the hyper-extensibility is applied, pain is generated in the joints and the muscle.

Further, the muscle or the ligament of the thumb may be damaged by the hyper-abduction of the second joint.
Further, when the hyper-extensibility and hyper-abduction continue for a long period of time, it is difficult to give more massages or perform acupressure due to damage to the joint and ligament of the thumb.

On the other hand, when the joints, muscle, and ligament of the thumb are damaged as described above, a assistance device is provided onto the thumb for physical treatment in medical institutions, such as a hospital; however, the thumb assistanve device according to the related art as described above has no other function, but to fix the joints to protect the thumb, such that it can be used only for treatment.

In particular, an assistance device that is worn on the thumb when giving a massage or performing acupressure as described above to allow a long massage or acupressure time while preventing damage to the joints, muscle, and ligament of the thumb due to the hyper-extensibility and hyper-abduction of the thumb pressing the body with a strong force has been strongly required in recent years.

│ Technical Problem │

In order to overcome the problems as described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a thumb assistance device for acupressure that is worn on a thumb when giving a massage or performing acupressure with the thumb to allow a user to give a massage or perform acupressure over a long period of time while preventing a pain due to tension of the joints and muscle and damage to the joints, by preventing hyper-extensibility and hyper-abduction of a thumb due to pressing.

Further, it is another object of the invention to provide a thumb assistance device for acupressure that prevents an occupational disease of a masseur who works in a field relating to a massage so acupressure and requires giving massages of performing acupressure over a long period of time by preventing pain and damage to the joints, muscle, and ligament of the thumb.

Further, it is another object of the invention to provide a thumb assistance device for acupressure having a simple structure and improved productivity.

│ Technical Solution │

A thumb assistance device for acupressure fitted on a thumb and prevents hyper-extensibility and hyper-abduction when giving a massage or acupressure, includes

a first support plate 100 that has an inner surface curved in a semicircular shape to support the upper portion of a second knuckle 720 of the thumb and is equipped with a size adjusting means 110 at the lower portion which adjusts the size of the inner circumference of the first support plate according to the thickness of the second knuckle 720 of the thumb inserted;

a second support plate 200 that integrally extends forward and downward at a predetermined angle from the front end of the first support plate 100 and has a semicircular inner side to support the upper portion of a first knuckle 710 of the thumb and a plurality of fixing holes 210 at the center portion;

a third support plate 300 that integrally protrudes backward and downward at a predetermined angle from the rear end of the first support plate 100 and has a semicircular inner side to support the upper portion of a third knuckle 730 of the thumb and a bending portion 310 that bends upward at the rear end;

a fingernail support plate 400 that has fixing protrusions 420 protruding from the upper center portion of a semicircular member 410, which is in close contact with the inner side of the second support plate 200, to be fitted in the fixing holes 210 formed at the center portion of the second support plate 200, and uniformly distributes a force applied to the fingernail of the first knuckle 710 of the thumb;

a plurality of first anti-bending protrusions 500 that protrude at predetermined distances from each other from the upper portion of the second support plate 200 to prevent the second support plate 200 from bending upward from the first support plate 100; and a plurality of second anti-bending protrusions 600 that protrude at predetermined distances from each other from the upper portion of the third support plate 300 to prevent the third support plate 300 from bending upward from the first support plate 100.

The size adjusting means 110 of the first support plate 100, as shown in FIG. 5, includes:

connecting holes 111 that are formed at a side of the first support plate 100;

a tightening band 112 that intergrally extends from the lower portion of the other side of the first support plate 100 and has carrying holes 112a at the center portion;

a fixing memeber 113 that is open to the outside at a side and has connecting protrusions 113a that are fitted in the connecting holes 111 at both sides of the open side;

a rotary bolt 114 that is inserted in the fixing member 113 and has spiral carrying protrusions 114a which are formed on the outer circumference and inserted in teh carrying holes 112a of the tightening band 112; and

a turning handle 115 that is provided at the upper portion of the rotary bolt 114 to allow the user to rotate the rotary bolt 114, holding the turning handle 115.

The second support plate 200 has a cutting portion 220 that is cut according to the legnth of the user's thumb, at the front end, and the third support plate 300, as shown in FIG. 11, includes:

a band hook 320 protruding upward from the center portion; and

a fixing band 330 that passes through the band hook 320 and surrounds the back of the hand and the palm with both ends fixed by Velcro 331 to closely contact the third support plate 300 to the upper portion of the third knuckle 730 of the thumb without separating from the third knuckle 730.

│ Advantageous Effects │

According to a thumb assistance device for acupressure that is worn on a thumb when giving a massage or performing acupressure with the thumb according to the invention, it is possible to allow a user to give a massage or perform acupressure over a long period of time while preventing pain due to tension of the joints and muscle and damage to the joints, by preventing hyper-extensibility and hyper-abduction of a thumb due to pressing.

Further, it is possible to prevent occupational disease of a masseur who works in a field relating to a massage or acupressure and gives the massage or performs acupressure over a long period of time by preventing pain and damage to the joints, muscle, and ligament of the thumb.

Further, according to the invention, it is possible to improve productivity because the structure of the thumb assistance device for acupressure is simple.

│ Description of Drawings │

FIG. 1 is an exemplary view illustrating giving acupressure according to the ralated art;
FIG. 2 is an exemplary view showing a thumb assistance device according to the invention;
FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing a side of the thumb assistance device according to the invention;
FIG. 4 is an exemplary view showing the bottom of the thumb assistance device according to the invention;
FIG. 5 is an exploded exemplary view showing the thumb assistance device according to the invention;
FIG. 6 is an exemplary view showing the cross section taken along the line A-A' of FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is an exemplary view showing the cross section taken along the line B-B' of FIG. 2;
FIG. 8 is an exemplary view illustrating how the thumb assistance device according to the invention is worn on the thumb;
FIG. 9 is an exemplary view showing the thumb assistance device worn on the thumb according to the invention;
FIG. 10 is an exemplary view illustrating the inside of the thumb assistance device worn on the thumb according to the invention;
FIG. 11 is an exemplary view showing another embodiment of a thumb assistance device according to the invention;
FIG. 12 is an exemplary view illustrating wearing the thumb assistance device according to another embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 13 is an exemplary view showing another embodiment of a thumb assistance device according to the invention.