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Using ATV winch to help Mom with sciatica...please read

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2.7K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  Jas_IA  
T
#1 ·
My mother has just developed a fairly serious case of sciatica, which is a condition where you have some serious leg pain as the result of a pinched sciatic nerve. One of the exercises she does in physical therapy is simply the therapist holding onto her foot and pulling away from her hips as she lays on her back on a table. To replicate this exercise at home they have recommended an inversion table (where you turn upside down and hang from your feet), but since she's not too keen on this idea I'm trying to figure out how to replicate this exercise...which is where the idea of a remotely operated winch comes in.

I don't really have a wide range of knowledge when it comes to what equipment is out there that can help me accomplish this goal, but I'm not too shabby at designing things and since I just installed a superwinch on my grizz this is the first idea I've come up with.

Basically I'm imagining using some kind of winch whose rope would be worked through a pulley system that would end attached to a shoe which Mom would put on, lie down and use the remote switch to gently stretch the leg.

- Winch (if an ATV winch) would be powered by a 12v car battery hooked up to a trickle charger

- Safety mechanisms would include...
- a light switch dimmer inline between the 12v battery and the winch so speed can be adjusted.
- possibly using one of those stretchy rubber exercise resistance bands in the line segment to regulate and ease the pulling
- a remote power cut off switch paired with the remote 'in/out' switch

Honestly I could just go ahead and make this system myself, and I'm fairly sure it would work, but I thought I'd bounce this idea off a mechanically minded community to see if there are any ideas how I could improve on the design.

Since I'm only familiar with ATV winches at this point that's what I've imagined using. But if anyone is aware of a 110v based winch that would be more appropriate, that would surely help in simplifying powering the system since it'll be located indoors. Only requirement for the winch would be that it would need both an in and out function operated by a remote switch. And since the winch would only need to pull between 10-20 lbs it wouldn't need to be nearly as beefy as the ATV type.

Sorry for the long write up here but I'm certainly glad for your time and open to your opinions and suggestions.
 
R
#2 ·
I don't think using a electric powered winch is safe. Imagine if something goes wrong, and winch doesn't shut down.
A better method would be to rig up a hand crank that she can use to put pressure on or off her leg. Mount the apparatus on a piece of plywood, put the crank beside her, with a cable going to the end of the plywood, around the pulley and back to the harness/shoe on her foot.
Just my two cents.
 
J
#3 ·
Is this something she will be doing on her own?

If you have an overhead attachment point I would take a look at a 3-1 pulley system or possibly a z rig. Google both of them to get ideas. You use rope and pulleys to create mechanical advantage so that you are only pulling 1/3 of the actual weight. You could also rig a 4-1 where you pull 1/4 of the weight but the pulleys tend to hang up a little without a good bit of weight. A 3-1 or z rig would literally only require a few pounds of lift, and being she only has to go as far as her leg will move there will be little pulling involved. All that is required is rope, two pulleys and an attachment point.

Good luck, hope things get better!
 
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#4 ·
I agree with RCMP. God forbid that the system fails while pulling. Ive seen systems fail even with numerous safety features in place. I think a hand operated winch would be safer. Chiropractors do use a weight and pulley system for neck extensions. maybe something like that would work better.
 
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H
#5 ·
I'm with the horseman too, imagine how you'd feel if your mother pulled her legs off? I mean, you could sell the story for quite a bit, but she'd be pretty ticked off, I think.

Why not just rig up a very simple pulley on a piece of plywood, placed a foot or so below her feet while on her back (on the plywood, with appropriate padding), and then attach it to her feet with a soft harness; the other end goes to a lever up around her hip level, and she pulls the lever and applies some tension to the leg that way. Probably better if there is a lever on both sides so she pulls with both hands and doesn't tweak anything pulling on just one side.
(why this makes sense to me: worked in an in-patient physio gym a looooong time ago)
 
D
#8 ·
This sounds beyond bad!
If she has pain, I highly doubt she wants an electric winch jerking her legs around.
Its meant for a slow gradual push from another person, not a 1,000lbs winch jerking on it.
 
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#13 ·
I had a serious back injury a couple of years ago which led to months of therapy and traction. DO NOT HOOK YOUR MOM UP TO A WINCH! this is beyond a horrible idea.
 
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#14 · (Edited)
And, then hook her to your truck's exhaust pipe to treat any digestive issues she may have!
 
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#16 ·
I'm going to chime in here, as a chiropractor for 16 years, I would advise against this. There are several reasons but I'll give one. The potential to do harm is greater than the potential to do good. To me that automatically means it's not worth it. Traction has benefits for sciatica but the benefits are limited. The possibility of limited benefits doesn't warrant the possibility of severe damage done to your mom.
 
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