Welded back brace

Abstract

A welded orthopedic back brace is disclosed. In an embodiment, at least one belt member is coupled to a spinal support element. The materials of the belt member are thermally fused to form a unitary segment. In another embodiment, an anterior portion of a posterior pad of the spinal support element includes thermally fused materials to provide a user with an added degree of comfort.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An orthopedic back brace, comprising:
 a flexible spinal support element; and   a belt member having a length and coupled to the flexible spinal support element for securing the spinal support element to a user, the belt member comprising a segment of rigid material fused onto a larger segment of flexible material to form a unitary segment that is more rigid at regions containing the rigid material and more flexible at regions where the rigid material is absent;   wherein a location of the rigid material on the flexible material extends along the length of the belt member.   
     
     
         2 . The back brace of  claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the belt member is uniform across all regions. 
     
     
         3 . The back brace of  claim 1 , wherein the belt member comprises first and second belt wings, an end of each of the first and second belt wings secured to the spinal support element. 
     
     
         4 . The back brace of  claim 1 , wherein the belt member comprises an unbroken loop (UBL) material. 
     
     
         5 . The back brace of  claim 1 , wherein an adhesive layer is disposed between the segment of rigid material and the larger segment of flexible material. 
     
     
         6 . The back brace of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible material is a spacer mesh material. 
     
     
         7 . The back brace of  claim 1 , wherein the rigid material is thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). 
     
     
         8 . The back brace of  claim 7 , wherein the TPU forms a pair of TPU segments disposed substantially parallel to one another along the length of the belt member.