The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 05, 1997
Filed:
Sep. 18, 1996
Tony S Keller, Burlington, VT (US);
Arlan W Fuhr, Phoenix, AZ (US);
Activator Methods, Inc., Phoenix, AZ (US);
Abstract
An improved chiropractic adjusting instrument and method is provided for use in spinal manipulative therapy and for exciting a human spine at its natural frequency. The chiropractic adjusting instrument includes a thrust element for delivering an input force, a body contact member removably attached to the thrust element, a spring member for propelling the thrust element and the body contact member outwardly, and an adjustment knob arranged on the thrust element for adjusting the amount of potential energy imposed on the spring member and for controlling the magnitude of the resulting input force. In use, the input force is mechanically tuned to the natural frequency of a musculoskeletal structure (e.g., a human spine) by positioning a shaped mass on the thrust element, by varying the stiffness of the removable body contact member, and/or by varying the stiffness of the spring member. The input force is then delivered to the musculoskeletal structure at its natural frequency. By mechanically tuning the chiropractic adjusting instrument in this way, the dynamic output response of the musculoskeletal structure is maximized while the requisite impact force is minimized. This not only enhances the overall effectiveness of spinal manipulative therapy, but also reduces the possibility of damage to the vertebrae during such treatment.