Media Center

For Our Media Friends
Your goal is to give your readers the best information and stories you can. 
Our goal with this page is to give you information to help you publish a story on a great product.  Sources to consider are the web page "In The News" (icon on left) and the following items on this page:

• Information on foot injuries

• Benefits of Webb's Leg Sling

• Comments we hear

• Written stories you can copy and use:

• Keep It Up (150 word article)

• Don't Put Any Weight on It (150 word article)

• Take A Load Off (170 word article)

• Ingenious Idea - Get A Leg Up! (175 word article)

• Hold It Up! (250 word article)

• Wow! What a Help! (1000 word article)

• Pictures can be downloaded in color and in black & white

Information to understand foot injuries:
The foot is the most complex limb on the body.  Think about all the following parts that are working together when you walk:
Each foot is made up of.....

• 125,000 sweat glands

• 7,000 nerve endings

• 107 ligaments

• 31 tendons

• 30 joints

• 28 bones

• 19 muscles

• 3 arches

The 7,000 nerve endings make the foot the most ticklish part of the body.

Knowing the above, you can better understand why any type of injury to the foot can create a great amount of pain.  When the doctor tells a patient they cannot put any weight on a foot, the good foot has to handle twice the amount of work because it carries the full body weight all the time.  The good foot has increase potential for injury carrying the additional weight.  Putting weight on an injured foot can significantly subject all the parts to further harm and in a number of cases, more harm than the original injury.

Additional injury occurs frequently most often getting up to go to the bathroom or to get a snack while watching television.  The results from non-compliance can be bones break again, stitches pulled out, ligaments torn, swelling that does damage to other parts of the foot.  The additional damage can causes healing times to extend to months, even years of multiple surgeries to correct.  There are cases where the non-compliance or the complex nature of injury leads to death.  Thus, preventing just one additional injury would pay for many leg slings.

Benefits of Webb's Leg Sling:
Now there is a Webb's Leg Sling to help in the healing process.  The three primary benefits of using a leg sling are:

1. Faster healing. The greatest benefit is the bungee cord portion of the sling allows the patient to exercise the muscles in the leg without bearing the full body weight.  This provides more blood flow to the injury that can speed healing while reducing the amount of muscle atrophy from lack of use.

2. Improved sense of balance because the leg sling holds the leg off the floor and has a limiting range of motion side to side.  The patient does not have to think about where that injured foot is.  That allows the patient to focus exclusively on using crutches (or walker) to walk.

3. Controlled return to normal gait.  The straps used to adjust the leg sling to fit each individual are gradually release so the patient's return to using the foot is controlled.  Starting with toe to heel and progressing with partial weight until a normal gait is attained.

Comments we hear:
The comments we frequently hear while demonstrating the leg sling are:

1. "I wish I had this leg sling when I had to use crutches!"  Or "Where were you when I needed a sling?  "

2. It is so new that we hear: "Why didn't my doctor tell me about this device?"

Inquires from people on the internet are:

1. "I am having a surgery and I wanted to find a walking aid because it was difficult the last time I was on crutches!"

2. "My leg is killing me from holding it up.  I sure am glad I found you."

Purchase Webb's Leg Sling on line at www.LegSling.com or call toll free at 866-216-2002.

Keep It Up
More and more doctors are offering their patients with foot and ankle injuries a step in the right direction for greater comfort and improved mobility.  A new device easily helps people to hold an injured leg up off the ground and keep their balance without hurting themselves.

Invented by an artist after he broke his own foot, the Webb’s Leg Sling reduces the strain of holding up a broken leg, ankle or foot.  Elastic section allows for lightly touching the ground with an injured limb should you lose your balance.  It is easy to use and only weighs on 8.5 ounces.

Along with crutches or a walker, the Webb’s Leg Sling provides comfortable mobility, giving you an easier way to follow your doctor’s orders and not put weight on your injury.  To learn more or to order a sling, visit our website at www.LegSling.com or contact 1-866-216-2002. 

Don’t put any weight on it!
Keeping a patient non-weight bearing (NWB) is easier said than done, particularly if they are active or lack sensation (peripheral neuropathy related conditions such as foot ulcers).

Webb’s Leg Sling™ helps patients be NWB compliant while relieving muscle strain, improving balance, and perhaps speeding recovery.  Worn over the shoulder, it holds the foot inches off the ground.  An elastic mid-section allows the foot to be lowered as needed for balance. 

Applicable for nearly all NWB patients using crutches or walkers, additional benefits include:

> Fits patients taller than 4’ 10”. 

> Adjusts, allowing “toe touch” or partial-weight bearing.  Patients progress at a controllable rate, facilitating return to normal gait.

> Off-loading weight to the shoulder reduces quadriceps stress.

> Elastic section promotes gentle knee movement. 

> Extension straps accommodate large casts or diabetic dressings.
 
> 8-1/2 ounces; comfortable; washable.

Visit www.LegSling.com or contact 1-866-216-2002. 

Ingenious Idea - Get A Leg Up!
After an ankle injury or foot surgery, it’s important to keep your weight off the injured foot. Not only do you get a painful reminder of this if you try it, but putting weight on the affected leg can delay healing.  It can, however, be hard to keep one foot off the ground – especially if you lose your balance.

 Now you can keep your balance without hurting yourself.  Invented by an artist who broke his foot while climbing a ladder to install gutters, the Webb’s Leg Sling reduces the strain of holding up a broken leg, ankle or foot. The elastic section allows lightly touching the ground with the injured limb should you lose your balance.  It’s easy to use and only weighs 8.5 ounces.

When used with crutches or a walker, the Webb’s Leg Sling provides comfortable mobility, giving you an easier way to follow your doctor’s instructions and not put weight on your injury.  To learn more or to order a sling, go to www.LegSling.com or contact them toll free at 1-866-216-2002. 

Take A Load Off
An ingenious idea may put an end to one kind of pain, the kind known to anyone who has ever had to get around on crutches due to a foot or ankle injury; the moment when, suddenly off balance, you reflexively slam down that wounded limb and get an excruciating reminder of why you are not supposed to put any weight on it.

Now, there is a solution that lets you keep your balance without hurting yourself.  The Webb’s Leg Sling not only reduces the strain of holding up a broken leg, ankle or foot, the elastic section allows for lightly touching the ground with the injured limb should you lose your balance.  It’s easy to use and weighs only 8.5 ounces.

Used with crutches or a walker, the Webb’s Leg Sling provides comfortable mobility, giving you an easier way to follow your doctor’s instructions and not put weigh on your injury.  To learn more or to order a sling, visit their website at www.LegSling.com or contact them at 1-866-216-2002.

Hold It UP!
Keeping a patient non-weight bearing (NWB) is easier said than done, particularly if they are active or lack sensation (peripheral neuropathy related conditions such as foot ulcers).
 
Webb’s Leg Sling was conceived several years ago by a patient with a fractured talus bone.  His job required him to be on his feet, but his leg pain (from holding up his foot) was too much to bear.  A dog harness and a bungee cord solved his problem.  Now redesigned into an 8-1/2 ounce device worn over the shoulder, it is being used primarily by northeast Ohio podiatrists, orthopedics, therapists and patients for nearly two years.  The leg sling holds the foot a few inches off the ground, while an elastic mid-section allows the foot to be lowered as needed.  Patients ambulate on crutches or a walker without the effort and concentration needed to be NWB compliant.

Applicable for nearly all NWB conditions, Webb’s Leg Sling has additional related benefits and design considerations:

> Fits all patients taller than 4’ 10”. 

> Adjustable shoulder straps can be lengthened, allowing “toe touch” or partial-weight bearing.  Patients progress at a controllable rate, facilitating return to normal gait.

> Off-loading weight to the shoulder reduces quadriceps stress.

> Elastic section promotes gentle knee movement during ambulation. 

> Extension straps accommodate large casts or diabetic dressings

> Effective for use with foot ulcers, Charcot foot, etc.
 
> Shoulder and ankle cuff are padded for comfort.

> Washable and durable.

For more information, visit www.LegSling.com or contact 1-866-216-2002. 

Wow! What a Help!
Don't put any weight on it!  Easier said than done!  Keeping a patient non-weight bearing is frequently a difficult order, particularly for people who are active, or those who need to get around a lot, or those who lack sensation due to peripheral neuropathy related conditions such as foot ulcers.  Finally, someone tackled this problem by off-loading the weight to the opposite shoulder using a leg sling.

A few years ago, Robert Webb, non-weight bearing as a result of a fractured talus bone, swung his crutches into a pet supply store, sat down and started fitting dog harnesses to his ankle cast.  Once selected, he attached a bungee cord between the harness and his tool belt, and off he went - back up the ladder! (with the help of a hook on one crutch) to his job of hanging gutters while complying with doctor’s orders.  A true “necessity is the mother of invention” story.

Webb’s co-inventor and step-father, Wayne Urban, helped perfect the design over the next few years, patent the idea, and get an FDA classification and a Medicare billing code.  Webb’s Leg Sling, on the market for only two years, is now helping patients comply with non-weight bearing orders while relieving muscle strain, improving balance, and perhaps speeding recovery.  This 8 ounce device, worn over the shoulder opposite the injury, holds the foot a few inches off the ground.  An elastic mid-section allows the foot to be lowered as needed for balance.  The patient can ambulate on crutches or with a walker without the effort and concentration needed to be compliant.

In order to increase awareness, the company, LS Products LLC, has been executing an active marketing campaign since early 2004.  They have been featured on NBC, in countless northeast Ohio periodicals and newspapers, and they have attended dozens of trade shows and seminars, including MedTrade.  LS Products LLC has also conducted nearly a hundred in-service demonstrations, primarily to physical therapy departments in hospitals.  The PT is often the first professional to deal with the non-weight bearing issue for the patient, and the PT’s love the new device.  All are encouraged to try the device themselves, and many “crutch” themselves immediately to the steps.  No problem, the leg sling can be worn so the leg is held in front or behind, thus enabling patients to go down or up or down curbs, etc.  (Patients are always encouraged to use the sit down method when going down steps). 

Being a small, start up business, they recognize the need to do even more from a marketing standpoint, but they also realize the need to spend appropriate time and attention to the administrative aspects of the company as well such as their newly designed website and attention to follow-up calls to inquiries.  Still, Wayne Urban, principal owner, finds time to speak on nearly a weekly basis at civic events, luncheons, and to other interested parties.

The leg sling has been marketed and used primarily in the northeast Ohio area, including use by orthopedic and podiatric doctors in the Cleveland Clinic Foundation system.  Richard Parker, MD, uses the sling for hamstring repair, holding up the foot tight against the thigh to help atrophy the hamstring, then after surgery to aid recovery.  Physical therapists have rave reviews for the leg sling, finding it a good way to get patients used to ambulating under non-weight bearing instructions.  The most effective method seems to have the patient fitted for both the crutches and the leg sling, and then go through crutch training before surgery.  Then, the patient is as ready as possible for the PT process.

Another use is diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy, in particular for Charcot joint and foot ulcers.  Too often, patients with ulcerations of the heel and foot are unable to sense when they are putting weight on the ulcer, thus unknowingly causing more harm to the condition.  The leg sling eliminates their need to concentrate on keeping the foot up by off-loading the weight to the opposite shoulder.  There are more than 2.5 million cases of foot ulcers reported annually, and non-compliance costs the system countless thousands of dollars, not to mention the pain and suffering of thousands of patients. 

Applicable for nearly all non-weight bearing conditions, the leg sling has additional related benefits and design considerations:

> The shoulder harness is adjustable for proper fit.  It can also be adjusted as the patient progresses through rehabilitation to allow “toe touch” or partial-weight bearing.  This helps the patient progress at a steady, controlled rate, slowly increasing the weight placed on the foot by decreasing the off-loading to the shoulder.

> Off-loading the weight to the shoulder eliminates excess stress on the quadriceps.  This is commonly a cause for difficulty in returning to normal gait due to the imbalance in strength of the quads and the hamstrings.  The leg sling helps minimize the imbalance between upper leg muscle groups.

> The elastic mid-section promotes a gentle up and down motion of the lower leg during ambulation, thus keeping the knee joint loose and promoting increased blood flow to the injured leg.  Patient recovery can be reduced.  Muscles in the upper leg are unconsciously exercised due to this gentle, swaying motion.

> Disconnected from the shoulder harness, the lower sections can be used as a leg lift, facilitating the patient getting in and out of bed, a chair, a car, etc.

> Extension straps accommodate even the largest casts or diabetic dressings, and two sizes fit patients from 4’-10” to well over 7’ in height.  The shoulder pad and shin pad are well padded for comfort. 

> Made entirely of non-metal parts, the leg sling can be washed and air dried.  The strapping material is polypropylene, similar to that used in life jackets, backpacks, etc.

Webb’s Leg Sling - looks and sounds like something we all could have invented years ago.  For more information, visit their website at www.LegSling.com or contact them toll free at 1-866-216-2002.

Pictures:

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