exoskeleton2

For injury-prone athletes (football players, skateboarders, motocrossers, etc), I propose a wearable system of telescoping high-carbon steel or graphite-fiber rods & high-tensile cables. This system would attach to an athlete via padded cuffs on either side of a major joint. The rods would provide impact protection, and the cables, on the inside of a joint, would ensure that said joint moves just so far, and no farther. Properly designed & executed, the wearer could lie face-down on two chairs, for instance, suspended only by their toes & forehead, and someone else could walk, even stomp, on the wearer's lower back without causing injury.