The issue our team was presented with was the fact that therapy bands commonly used by physical therapists can only be tied into a knot to form a loop. These knots often become tighter with exercise, thus making them even more difficult to undo after use.
Two of our team members met with physical therapist Melody Tran, who works at Athletico in Chicago. She modeled how some knots can take minutes to untie, and she explained that this can be very detrimental to time efficiency in her clinic, especially when she is attending to multiple patients at one time. Melody Tran also mentioned that it is not unheard of for therapy bands to cause bruising and scabbing on older patients with more sensitive skin. In research, one of our team members discovered that pressure injuries-abrasions to skin caused by various materials-frequently result in medical settings when moisture is trapped between human skin and textiles, rubbers, etc. In a physically exertive environment, it makes sense that these pressure injuries can occur due to patients’ perspiration.Â
Drawing from all of these factors, our team determined that the true problem we were facing was not only that regular therapy bands are time inefficient, but that they also lack adjustability, comfort, and consistency.
Mission statement:
Our mission is to provide an improved theraband design by implementing a connecting and disconnecting mechanism to decrease time spent preparing the band for use and enable the tension to be set consistently.