THIS INVENTION relates to back treatment aDoaratus and in Darticular to apparatus which mav be simply used in the home or in other situations for the relief of back pain or for correcting back ailments by realigning the vertebrae in the spine. Background Art

Back pain is a chronic problem experienced by a large proportion of the population. The occurrence of such pain has a profound effect on the community in so far that many working hours are lost and furthermore high medical expenses are encountered, a cost which in the end is borne by the general community. Many treatment methods have been proposed in the past aimed at overcoming or alleviating the symptoms of back pain ranging from conventional medical treatments to more radical alternative approaches. Chiropractic treatment is a common treatment undertaken by many people aimed at overcoming back pain or for correcting back or spinal ailments. In such treatment, a chiropractor manipulates the vertebra of the sσine in an attempt to obtain correct alignment of the vertebrae. Generally however all such treatments reαuire a skilled practitioner and as such treatments are often required to be continued over an extended period of time, considerable expense is involved.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention aims to overcome or alleviate one or more of the above disadvantages by providing apparatus suitable for the treatment of back pain or back ailments which may be used by an individual for the purposes of manipulation of the vertebrae of the spine. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.

With the a ove and other objects in view, the present invention provides apparatus for the treatment of the back by

manipulation of the vertebrae of the spine, said apparatus including a seat portion upon which a user may be seated, and a back supporting portion extending generally arcuately rearwardly of said seat portion, said back supporting portion being adapted to receive and support the spine of a user seated on said seat portion and lying rearwardly therefrom.

In one particularly preferred form, the back supporting portion defines a recess for accepting portion of the vertebrae of the spine of the user. Preferably, the back support portion is defined by a pair of adjacent substantially parallel arcuate members and said recess is defined between said arcuate members. The arcuate members may be of tubular form and fixed relative to each other so that the recess is defined between opposed arcuate surfaces of such members. The arcuate members may be spaced slightly apart to define the recess or the arcuate members, when of tubular form, may be in a touching or engaging relationship.

Alternatively, the back support portion may be provided by an arcuate member having a longitudinally extending slot or groove defining the recess for the spine vertebrae.

An infill member however may be provided to occupy the recess so that the arcuate back supporting portion has in cross section a substantially flat upper surface in the transverse direction. Alternatively, the infill member may comprise a pad spanning the members. Preferably, the infill member is formed of a resilient material so as to act as a cushion to the back of the user.

In an alternative form, the back support portion may be defined by a member having in cross section an upper planar surface for support of the users spine, the member being longitudinally arcuate.

In either form, the back supporting portion may be padded with a resilient or other padding material to provide comfortable support for the spine. Preferably, the arch of the back supporting portion is

the same as or greater than, that is. has a smaller radius or radn than, the natural arch of the soine of the user.

Suitably, the seat portion is adapted for inclination rearwardly towards said back supporting portion whereby to provide a secure support for a user to be seated thereon. In a preferred arrangement, the inclined attitude of the seat portion may be selectively adjusted.

The apparatus may also include a head support portion at the end of the back support portion remote from the seat portion.

Preferably, the apparatus is supported on legs. The legs suitably comprise a pair of front legs adjacent the seat portion and a pair of back legs at the opposite end of the apparatus. Preferably, at least the back legs are adjustable in length so as to vary the attitude of the back support portion. The front legs may also be adjustable in length.

In a particular preferred form, the arch of the back support portion may be selectively varied. This may be achieved by forming the back support portion of a flexible material so as to enable it to be deformed and therefore ad.iust its radius or radii of arch. Brief Description of the Drawings

In order that the invention may Pe more readily understood and put into practical effect reference will now Pe made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein :-

Fig. 1 is a side view of one form of back treatment apparatus according to the invention:

Fig. 2 is a front view of the apparatus of Fig. 1: Fig. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus of the invention:

Fig. A is a sectional view along line A-A of Fig. 3: Figs. 5 to 9 illustrate the manner in which the apparatus of the invention mav be used.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Referring to the drawings and firstly to Figs. 1 to 4 there is illustrated back treatment apparatus 10 according to the present invention comprising a seat portion 11 and a back supporting portion 12. The seat portion 11 is defined by a pair of adjacent tubular frame members 13 which are disposed in *a substantially horizontal attitude in use and which support a seat 14 which is padded and which is pivotally or hingedly connected to the members 13 at 15. The seat 14 is also provided with an adjustable stop assembly 16 comprising a pair of rods 17 which comprise the legs of a U-shaped member which is pivotally connected to the seat 14 and provided with a series of transverse abutment members 18 therealong which are adapted to co-operate with a stop plate 19 to set the angle of inclination of the seat 14.

The members 13 terminate in a transversely extending end plate 20 which is secured by bolts 21 to a further end plate 22 at the forward end of the back supporting portion 11. The tubular members 13 additionally carry opposite sockets 23 for receipt of a pair of detachable front legs 24, the latter terminating in feet 25.

The back supporting portion 11 is defined by a pair of substantially parallel arcuate members 26 of tubular form, the members 26 being interconnected in a diametrical relationship to define a recess 27 between arcuate opposed surfaces and extending rearwardly from the end plate 22. The members 26 carry at their free ends respective sockets 28 for engagement by telescopically adjustable legs 29 which are selectively adjustable in length. For this purpose, the legs 29 comprise a pair of telescopically engaged tubular members 30 and 31. one of which is provided with a series of spaced apart apertures

32 and the other of which includes a spring loaded pin 33 for engagement in a selected aperture 32 to lock the legs 29 at a desired length. As shown the members 31 terminate in feet 34. The members 26 also carry a pair of rearwardly directed tuDular sockets 35 located one above the other for receipt of

a spigot 36 of a head support portion 37 which includes padded head rest 38 on which the head of the user may b supported.

Referring now to Figs. 5 to 9 which illustrates the use of the apparatus 10 of the invention, a person 39 wishin to use the apparatus 10 say for the relief of back pain sit on the seat portion 12 grasping the opposite sides thereof fo the purposes of support. In this position, the spine of th person 39 is aligned with the rearwardly extending arcuat members 26. The person 39 then leans back so as to be i upwardly facing attitude and so that the spine is supported b the members 26 with the spinous process and associate ligaments and muscles of the vertebrae locating in the reces 27 but with the lamina thereof supported on opposite side by the members 26. Where, the head support portion 37 is used the person 39 leans backwards until the head is resting on th head rest 38. The arms are allowed to relax and hang dow towards the floor.

For a full stretch, the hands are lifted o er the hea as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. As more flexibility is achieved the head support portion 37 can be removed or alternativel repositioned in the lower socket 35 and the back legs 29 ma be shortened to increase stretch. The curvature of the member 26 is such that they reposition and align the vertebrae in similar manner to that undertaken by a chiropractor o physiotherapist in practicing spinal manipulation. The abov procedure is carried out as often as desired until relief fro back pain is achieved. The curvature of the members 26 is suc as to either match or be greater than the curvature of th spine and cause the spine to move beyond its normal position.

For specific disc adjustment as shown in Fig. 8, a sof rubber ball 40 or the like is placed in the recess 27 betwee the curved members 26 at the appropriate position for proble discs. For adjustment of the lower back, the seat 14 is raise to its highest inclination and with the ball 40 in position.

the leading edge of the seat 14 is held and the user leans backwards against the ball 40 until the disc is realigned.

To adjust the discs between the shoulders, the ball 40 is placed into the appropriate position and the person leans backwards onto the members 26 and the hands are lifted over the head as indicated in Fig. 6.

For relief of muscle spasms around the rib cage, the user lies on the apparatus 10 with the head supporting portion 37 in place as shown in Fig. 9. The arms are raised until they are straight out from the shoulders and substantially horizontal. The arms are then rotated in a small circular motion until relief is felt.

The apparatus of the present invention is suitably formed of metal, however, it will be apparent that the apparatus may be constructed in many different forms and of different materials such, as plastics. In a particular preferred form, the apparatus is constructed of aluminium so as to be lightweight to lend itself to easy transportation. The legs 24 and 29 for this purpose together with the seat portion 12 and head support portion 37 are detachable.

In an alternative simplified configuration, the members 26 may be replaced by a single member of arcuate form in the longitudinal direction but provided with a longitudinally extending slot in which the vertebrae may be received. Alternatively, the single member may be provided with a longitudinally extending groove or recess for this purpose. In yet a further simplified form, the back support portion 37 may comprise a member which has a substantially flat upper surface in the transverse direction whilst being arcuate in the longitudinal direction. The member in this form is preferably padded by any suitable padding means such as a foam plastics or rubber material which provide comfort to the user.

The seat portion 11 may also be of other forms such as in the form of an external perimeter frame which supports a fabric material, other sheet material or cushion to define a

seat support. The seat portion 11 may also be fixed at a set angle to the back support portion 11.

In a further method of use of the apparatus of the invention, discrete padding may be placed at any desired position along the members 26 so as to engage selected vertebrae. Such padding may be secured in position by any suitable fastening means such as by means of clips or velcro material. The padding may also comprise lumber rolls or neck rolls positioned at appropriate positions along the members 26. To enable adjustment of the arch of the members 26, an adjustment mechanism 41 may be provided (see Fig. 1). This mechanism comprises a threaded rod 42 connected rotatably at one end 43 to an intermediate portion of the members 26 and extending at the other end through, and in threaded engagement with, a threaded guide 44 fixed to the trailing end of the members 26. At its free, end the rod 42 is provided with a handle 45. It will be apparent that rotation of the handle 45 in one direction will cause the intermediate portion of the members 26 to be drawn towards the end portions thereof to thereby decrease the radius of curvature of the members 26 at the trailing portion thereof. If the arch of the members 26 is to be adjusted along their whole length, the rod 42 may be connected between the opposite ends of the members 26. Of course, this arrangement may also be provided in the alternative configurations of apparatus as described above to alter the curvature of the arch.

The adjustment as provided above is particularly suitable for rehabilitation situations as the arch can be selectively adjusted through a range of treatments until full correction is achieved.

In an alternative arrangement for varying the curvature of the back supporting portion 12, infill members 46 (shown in dotted outline in Fig. 1) may be applied to the members 26 at desired positions along the members 26 to suit the user. The infill members 46 mav be of the sectional form shown in

Fig. 4 so as to fill in the recess 27 and provide a planar top surface 47. The infill members 46 suitably comprise a dense resilient material or a foam plastics material. Such an infill member 46 may extend along the full length of members 26 so as to define a flat surface on which the spine may be supported. In a further form the arcuate back supporting portion 12 of the apparatus may be defined by the upper arcuate edges of a pair of spaced apart planar members which are supported from a ground or floor surface in a substantially upright attitude so as to support the apparatus. Such planar members may comprise timber members and the upper arcuate edges may be padded in a suitable manner, for example by placement of tubular plastic or rubber members thereon. Such members are spaced apart to define a gap or recess for receipt of portion of the vertebrae of the user. The planar members may also be extended at one end to def.ine a mount for the seat portion 11. The back supporting portion 12 may have any width as desired and the apparatus 10 may be supported in any suitable fashion other than by detachable legs 14. Vibrator and acupuncture pads can also be fitted to the apparatus 10 so as to be usable in conjunction therewith.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative embodiment of the invention, all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.