Tips & Advice

Five Fabulous Features of the New Pacer Caster

What you need to know for clinical justification

July 11, 2017 by Lori Potts, PT

While redesigning the Pacer we took the opportunity not only to improve the existing functions, but to add an odometer to encourage data collection and record progress. For gait training, there’s nothing else like our caster.

These are the five key functions on the new caster:

          1. Brake
          2. Swivel lock
          3. One-way ratchet control
          4. Variable drag
          5. An optional odometer

Where these features appear depends on your choice of base.


                            Standard Base and Treadmill Base Caster (both sides)
dynamic pacer caster features    new pacer caster features

 

          Utility Base Front Wheel                                      Utility Base Back Wheel
rifton pacer caster features   rifton pacer wheel feature

 

Brake

Function: Fully locks the Pacer wheel.

Clinical application:

  • Lock for transfers into Pacer. The utility base has the brakes on the rear wheels.
  • Locking all four wheels allows your client to practice standing and weight-bearing.

Swivel Lock (foot-actuated)

Function: Positions and maintains the wheel in a straight line (no lateral movement).

Clinical application:

  • Lock all four swivels to help clients walk in a straight line, particularly for clients who have difficulty controlling lateral movement.
  • For better steering control (which will vary by client), unlock swivels front or back.

One-way ratchet control

Function: Positions wheel to move in one direction only (blocks involuntary backwards movement)

Clinical application:

  • Set this control for a client who has difficulty maintaining forward momentum during gait. For improved effect use this feature in conjunction with swivel lock.

Variable drag

Function: Creates resistance on the wheel.

Clinical application:

  • Slow down fast, uncontrolled gait by increasing drag.
  • Increasing drag can also strengthen muscles during gait.
  • For clients who tend to veer to one side during gait, set the drag on the opposing posterior caster.
rifton pacer caster odometer feature

Odometer

Function: Record client progress in feet or meters (selected at the time of purchase).

Clinical application:

  • Great objective data on distance and progress.
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Neha Dhara | August 09, 2019
Impressive, thanks for the post. Got new information from your post, you are doing a great job. Good Luck!
Vijaya | April 21, 2020

Hello,

Thank you for sharing this informative article. It was very helpful. We wish you success in your future work.

Duncan | March 05, 2023
This a many good ideas in one package. I used a walker/roller during recovery from illness and I noted its tendency to run away with me. I started with an older one with bad bearings and swivels (think shopping cart :) ) that I had to work a bit to push. It was replaced with a newer model that rolled quite easily but had the unintended consequence of me moving faster with it - even though this was not what I needed at that point in my recovery.