Thuasne^® wins the Red Dot Design Award

Thuasne® has received the Red Dot Design Award 2026 for its range of lumbar belts. This international distinction rewards several years of work on medical design and confirms the Group's position among the leading players in premium orthopedics.

Recognition for a range 

This award distinguishes Thuasne®'s range of lumbar belts – LombaSkin, Lombatech®, Lombacross Activity, LombaStart and LombaFirst – redesigned to offer a coherent visual and functional identity throughout the design language. From models suited to sedentary profiles to versions designed for intense physical activity, each reference meets a different lifestyle. It was this range effect that caught the jury's attention: the ability to apply a single design philosophy to products with very different uses, without compromising clinical performance. 

This renewal resulted in patented innovations common to the entire range: an M-shaped dorsal panel for better adaptation to patients' body shapes, asymmetrical abdominal panels fitted with tightening indicators, and symmetrical hand-loops to make daily application easier³. These details form a range developed to serve patients.

Design as expertise in the service of mobility

At Thuasne®, design serves compliance – that is, the patient's ability to wear their device correctly and consistently over time. A product that is intuitive to put on, suited to the body and comfortable to wear is a product patients actually wear, and therefore a treatment that works.

This conviction takes on its full meaning in the context of low back pain, which affects more than 600 million people worldwide at some point in their lives¹. The lumbar belt supports the return to activity: it supports the lumbar area, promotes postural correction and reduces apprehension about movement^4,5. Its effectiveness relies as much on its medical properties as on the quality of its design. 

Design, a strategic skill built over time

This award is also recognition of a long-term investment. For several years, Thuasne® has been building genuine in-house design expertise, with a dedicated team working closely with the marketing and R&D². This approach is based on actively listening to patients and healthcare professionals, which is then translated into concrete solutions.

With 55 years of expertise in managing low back pain and 180 years of industrial history, the Group does not see design as a passing trend. It has made design a strategic lever, embedded in its design method for years. The Red Dot Design Award 2026 confirms that user-centered design is just as decisive in the field of care as in any other sector.

^{Legal notice: The products mentioned are Class I medical devices intended for the treatment of low back pain. These medical devices are regulated healthcare products bearing, under this regulation, the CE marking. Indications and contraindications: refer to the instructions for use. Read the instructions for use, indications and contraindications carefully. If in doubt, consult a healthcare professional.}

^{1 GBD 2021 Low Back Pain Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of low back pain, 1990-2020, its attributable risk factors, and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Rheumatol. 2023 May 22;5(6):e316-e329. doi: 10.1016/S2665-9913(23)00098-X. PMID: 37273833; PMCID: PMC10234592.}

^{2 R&D: research and development.
3 Performance study report - OC2201, 2022
4 The effect of different lumbar belt designs on the lumbopelvic rhythm in healthy subjects Christian Larivière1,3 
5 Preliminary Study of the Objective Measurement of Compliance Rates for Semirigid Lumbar-Support Use in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain: How Important Is the Compliance Rate? Maryam Hekmatfard1, Mohammad Ali Sanjari2, Nader Maroufi3, Hassan Saeedi1, Esmail Ebrahimi3, Hamid Behtash4 -2017}