Methods and devices for preventing ankle sprain injuries

Abstract

Devices and methods for preventing ankle sprain injuries. To protect the ankle joint from acute ankle supination or inversion sprain injuries, the device comprises a sensing part configured to sense data of an ankle motion; an analyzing part configured to analyze the data to judge whether the motion is a sprain motion; and a stimulating part configured to stimulate one or more lower limb muscles against the motion in light of a result of the analyzing. The method also involves sensing data of an ankle motion; analyzing the data to judge whether the motion is a sprain motion; and stimulating one or more lower limb muscles against the motion if the motion is a sprain motion.

1 . A device for preventing or reducing an ankle sprain injury, comprising:
 a sensing part configured to sense data related to ankle motion;   an analyzing part configured to analyze said data to determine whether said motion is a sprain motion, and configured to generate a trigger signal once said data received about a motion exceeds a preset threshold indicative of said sprain motion; and   a stimulating part configured to stimulate one or more lower limb muscles in response to the trigger signal transmitted from the analyzing part to prevent or reduce said sprain motion.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the data sensed by the sensing part is selected from the group consisting of inversion angle, tilting angle, tilting velocity and ankle inversion velocity. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the data sensed by the sensing part is transmitted in real-time to the analyzing part in a wired or wireless manner and said sensing part has a sampling frequency in a range of 50 Hz˜1,000 Hz. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein said sensing part is attached to an external or internal portion of a shoe or adapted to be attached to a foot. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the sensing part comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of a tri-axial accelerometer, a gyrometer, a goniometer, and a pressure sensor. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein said threshold is adjustable. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the data sensed by the sensing part is an ankle inversion velocity and the threshold is between approximately 190 and 600 degrees per second. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the stimulating part comprises:
 a pair of electrodes configured to be in contact with a lower limb, and   a circuit configured to deliver an electric stimulation signal applied between the electrodes when the trigger signal is transmitted from the analyzing part.   
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 8 , wherein the electrodes are adapted to be attached to a skin surface of a peroneal muscle group. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 9 , wherein the electrodes are separated by a distance of 1-3 cm on the skin surface of the peroneal muscle group. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 8 , wherein the electrodes are disposable/replaceable skin-attached discs. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 8 , wherein the electric stimulation signal is an electrical pulse. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 12 , wherein the electrical pulse has a plurality of cycles with an adjustable width. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein said device is incorporated, in whole or in part, into a shoe, sock, brace or other supporting structure. 
     
     
         15 . A method for preventing or reducing an ankle sprain injury, comprising:
 sensing data related to ankle motion;   analyzing the data to determine whether said motion is a sprain motion_by determining whether said data exceeds a preset threshold indicative of said sprain motion;   generating a trigger signal if said preset threshold is exceeded by said data; and
 stimulating one or more lower limb muscles in response to said trigger signal to prevent or reduce said motion if the motion is a sprain motion. 
   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the data is selected from the group consisting of inversion angle, tilting angle, tilting velocity and ankle inversion velocity. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the data is sensed in a real-time manner with a sampling frequency adjustable in a range of 50 Hz˜1,000 Hz. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said threshold is adjustable. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the data is an ankle inversion velocity and the threshold is between approximately 190 and 600 degrees per second. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more lower limb muscles is a peroneal muscle group. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the lower limb muscles are stimulated with an electrical pulse. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the electrical pulse has a plurality of cycles with an adjustable width.