Therapeutic Shoulder Apparatus

Abstract

In one embodiment, a shoulder exercise and stretching apparatus includes a forearm support, a forearm securing means for securing a user's forearm to the forearm support, an elbow support to capture the elbow of a user and keep the user's arm in a desired position to isolate the user's shoulder as a pivot point for rotation, and a rotation member coupled to the forearm support to rotate the forearm support through a desired plane and thereby provide an angular force to a target shoulder of the user. One or more handles, may be provided for grasping by a user's free hand to assist in the movement of the rotation member. Measurement means may be provided for determining the rotation of the apparatus. Resistance means may be provided to provide for resistance exercises of the shoulder.

1 . A shoulder apparatus, comprising:
 a forearm support to support a user's forearm;   a securing means for securing the user's forearm to the forearm support;   an elbow support to support the user's elbow; and   a rotation member coupled to the forearm support to allow rotation of said forearm support by movement of the rotation arm to thereby rotate the user's forearm and apply a rotating force to the user's shoulder.   
   
   
       2 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said forearm support and said rotation member are positioned at about a 90 degree angle. 
   
   
       3 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising an elbow support provided between the forearm support and the rotation member. 
   
   
       4 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said elbow support is provided between the forearm support and the rotation member, so that the user's shoulder serves as a pivot point during rotation of the forearm support. 
   
   
       5 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a handle provided at said rotation member to assist the grasping of the rotation member. 
   
   
       6 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising rotation measurement means to measure rotation of the shoulder. 
   
   
       7 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein said rotation measurement means comprises a spirit level. 
   
   
       8 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein said rotation measurement means comprises an angle finder. 
   
   
       9 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said forearm restraint means comprises an adjustable strap. 
   
   
       10 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said forearm restraint means is resilient to allow a user to stretch the forearm restraint means to exercise the shoulder. 
   
   
       11 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said rotation member is flexible. 
   
   
       12 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising resistance means to provide resistance against the force of rotation of a user's forearm away from the forearm support. 
   
   
       13 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said securing means is a resilient strap. 
   
   
       14 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein said resilient strap has a predetermined resistance. 
   
   
       15 . The shoulder apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving apertures in said forearm support member for receiving said forearm securing means. 
   
   
       16 . A method of stretching a shoulder of a user, comprising:
 securing a forearm support of a shoulder apparatus to a forearm of the user, the forearm support coupled to a rotation member extending generally perpendicular to the forearm support;   supporting an elbow of the user to be exercised by an elbow support located between the forearm support and the rotation member so that a shoulder acts as a pivot point for rotation of the forearm support.   
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 moving the forearm support to rotate the shoulder apparatus to move the forearm to stretch the shoulder.   
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 measuring the rotation of the apparatus to determine the stretch of the shoulder.   
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising securing said forearm to a resistance means. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising moving the forearm against a resistance means attached to said forearm support to exercise the shoulder. 
   
   
       21 . A device for stretching a shoulder, comprising:
 a generally L-shaped member having a forearm support to support a user's forearm, an elbow support to support a user's elbow, a forearm securing means to secure a user's forearm to the forearm support, a rotation member coupled to the forearm support so that a user may through self-assistance stretch the shoulder both internally and externally by applying force to the rotation member to rotate the L-shaped member and stretch the user's shoulder.