Apparatus and Method for Treating Foot Tissue
A footwear apparatus for treating skin of a human foot may include a sole section configured for placement against a sole of a foot of a user during use; a heel section coupled with the sole section and configured for placement against the heel of the foot of the user during use; a reservoir configured for storing a material for use in treating skin of a human foot; and an abrasive surface coupled with the heel section and configured to debride skin of the heel of the user during use.
Many people experience painful skin fissures on the skin of their feet, particularly the skin of the heel and forefoot of their feet. Skin fissures are essentially cracks in the calloused skin of a person's foot. This can be caused by excessive pressure and shearing applied to the foot when wearing shoes that have no surrounding constraint such as clogs or sandals. Fissures can result in infection of the skin.
Heavy people are particularly affected by this condition as they often have difficulty putting on shoes with back heel surfaces since it is difficult for them to reach their feet. As a result, they often wear backless footwear such as clogs or sandals. The combination of excess weight and the lack of a constraining surface around their heel results in shearing causing the foot tissue to proliferate on the skin surrounding the heel of the foot. The repetitive stress on this skin can result in breakage of the skin and what are commonly called skin fissures. In addition, the skin of the foot can often become calloused and this can contribute to the skin fissure formation since the calloused skin will more readily break in long fissures.
The difficulty in curing skin fissures, however, is that people suffering from this condition often cannot easily reach their feet. Thus, for the same reason that the condition arose in the first place, it is also difficult to cure. Namely, the afflicted individual has difficulty reaching his or her foot and thus cannot apply the appropriate treatment on a repetitive basis.
In addition, many people find the treatment process messy and therefore avoid applying the lotion altogether.
Thus, there is a need for a treatment that allows a person to more readily address this painful physical condition.
SUMMARYIn accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a new footwear apparatus has been designed that allows an individual to address skin ailments on their feet simply by walking in the footwear. The footwear can cause debridement of the user's afflicted skin during walking as well as dispense the material used to make the skin more resilient.
Thus, in accordance with one embodiment, a footwear apparatus for treating skin of a human foot is provided. The apparatus can comprise a sole section configured for placement against a sole of a foot of a user during use; a heel section coupled with the sole section and configured for placement against the heel of the foot of the user during use; a reservoir configured for storing a material for use in treating skin of a human foot; and an abrasive surface coupled with the heel section and configured to debride skin of the heel of the user during use.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a footwear apparatus for treating skin of a human foot can comprise a base section configured for placement against a sole of a foot of a user during use; an insertable section configured for removable insertion in the base section; and a reservoir disposed in the insertable section and configured for storing a material for use in treating skin of a human foot.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention, an apparatus for use in treating a human foot can comprise a reservoir storing a material for use in treating skin of a human foot; and an outer surface defining a shape configured for insertion in a piece of footwear.
Yet another embodiment of the invention allows a method of treating a foot using a footwear apparatus, wherein the method comprises providing a footwear apparatus; placing a foot into the footwear apparatus; debriding injured foot tissue with a surface of the footwear apparatus by walking in the footwear apparatus; dispensing a material from a reservoir within the footwear apparatus by walking in the footwear apparatus; and causing the dispensed material to contact the injured foot tissue by walking in the footwear apparatus.
Further embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein certain methods, apparatuses, and articles of manufacture are illustrated. However, it is to be understood that this patent is not limited to the details recited but includes all such variations and modifications as fall within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims. This summary is provided merely to introduce certain concepts rather than to identify any key or essential features of the claimed subject matter.
Referring now to
The condition is especially prevalent in people who are overweight. This is caused by the fact that they often wear shoes that have no portion encompassing the heel of the foot. The reason for this is that overweight people often have difficulty reaching their feet to put on shoes and find it easier to wear sandals or clogs.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The material stored in the reservoir can include a keratolytic material for use in treating the skin. For example, it can include urea and/or ammonium lactate.
In the device shown in
The reservoir used in storing material can take a variety of forms. For example,
The heel cup shown in
In addition to treating skin fissures in the heel section of the user's foot, one embodiment can alternatively treat skin maladies in the mid-sole or fore foot sections of a user's foot. For example, one could locate a reservoir of material for treating skin conditions in either the fore foot section of the footwear or mid-sole section of the footwear. In addition, a mildly abrasive surface could be included in these areas as needed. Thus, one might address corns or calluses on a user's foot in these areas.
Referring now to
So as to prevent material from leaking during shipment or evaporating during storage, the insertable section can be manufactured with a completely closed reservoir. This would apply to apparatus that was configured as an integrated piece of footwear such as
It is also noted that many of the structures, materials, and acts recited herein can be recited as means for performing a function or step for performing a function. Therefore, it should be understood that such language is entitled to cover all such structures, materials, or acts disclosed within this specification and their equivalents, including any matter incorporated by reference.
It is thought that the apparatuses and methods of embodiments described herein will be understood from this specification. While the above description is a complete description of specific embodiments, the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the patent as defined by the claims.
It will be understood that while embodiments have been described in conjunction with specific examples, the foregoing description and examples are intended to illustrate, but not limit the scope of the invention. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the claims pertain. The elements and use of the above-described embodiments can be rearranged and combined in manners other than specifically described above, with any and all permutations within the scope of the disclosure.
Claims
1) A footwear apparatus for treating skin of a human foot, said apparatus comprising:
- a sole section configured for placement against a sole of a foot of a user during use;
- a heel section coupled with the sole section and configured for placement against the heel of the foot of the user during use;
- a reservoir configured for storing a material for use in treating skin of a human foot;
- an abrasive surface coupled with the heel section and configured to debride skin of the heel of the user during use.
2) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the heel portion is configured to extend up the rear portion of the heel to about the margin between the plantar skin and the glabrous skin of the heel of the user.
3) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sole portion comprises openings for distributing the stored material during use.
4) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reservoir comprises a completely closed bladder.
5) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reservoir is configured for opening to allow the stored material to be removed.
6) The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the bladder is configured to be pierced so as to allow the stored material to be removed.
7) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the heel portion contacts the bottom and back of the heel of the user during use.
8) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the abrasive surface is configured to debride fissured skin of the user during use.
9) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sole section and the heel section are configured as an integrated piece.
10) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sole section and the heel section are removably coupled with one another.
11) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reservoir is disposed in the heel section.
12) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reservoir is disposed in the sole section.
13) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the abrasive surface is an integral portion of the heel section.
14) The apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising a second abrasive surface, the second abrasive surface disposed on the sole section.
15) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the abrasive surface coupled with the heel section is configured to debride skin on the side of the heel during use.
16) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reservoir configured for storing material for use in treating skin of a human foot stores ointment.
17) A footwear apparatus for treating skin of a human foot, said footwear apparatus comprising:
- a base section configured for placement against a sole of a foot of a user during use;
- an insertable section configured for removable insertion in the base section;
- a reservoir disposed in the insertable section and configured for storing a material for use in treating skin of a human foot.
18) The apparatus of claim 17 and further comprising an abrasive surface coupled with the insertable section and configured to debride skin of the heel of the user during use.
19) The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the insertable section is configured to extend up the rear portion of the heel of the user to about the margin between the plantar skin and the glabrous skin of the heel of the user.
20) The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the reservoir comprises a completely closed bladder.
21) The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the reservoir is configured for opening to allow stored material to be removed.
22) The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the base section is configured to receive the insertable section so that insertion of the insertable section in the base section disposes the insertable section proximate to the heel of the user during use.
23) The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the base section is configured to receive the insertable section so that insertion of the insertable section in the base section disposes the insertable section proximate to the ball of the foot of the user during use.
24) The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the reservoir is configured for storing ointment as the material for treating skin of a human foot.
25) An apparatus for use in treating a human foot, the apparatus comprising:
- a reservoir storing a material for use in treating skin of a human foot;
- an outer surface defining a shape configured for insertion in a piece of footwear.
26) The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the outer surface of the apparatus comprises an abrasive surface configured to debride skin of the foot of a user during use of the piece of footwear.
27) The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the reservoir comprises a completely closed bladder.
28) The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the reservoir is configured for opening so as to allow the material to be removed.
29) The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the reservoir is configured to be opened by piercing.
30) A method of treating a foot with a footwear apparatus, the method comprising:
- providing a footwear apparatus;
- placing a foot into the footwear apparatus;
- debriding injured foot tissue with a surface of the footwear apparatus by walking in the footwear apparatus;
- dispensing a material from a reservoir within the footwear apparatus by walking in the footwear apparatus;
- causing the dispensed material to contact the injured foot tissue by walking in the footwear apparatus.
31) The method as claimed in claim 30 and further comprising:
- opening the reservoir so as to allow the material to be dispensed.
32) The method as claimed in claim 31 wherein said opening comprises piercing a bladder so as to allow the material to be dispensed.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 18, 2010
Publication Date: Dec 22, 2011
Inventor: Keith A. Naftulin (Littleton, CO)
Application Number: 12/818,936
International Classification: A45D 29/18 (20060101);