Rehab & Therapy

Dynamic Seating Webinar

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May 6, 2011 by Ginny Paleg, PT, MPT, DScPT

Rifton Activity Chair: The Best in Dynamic Sitting & Positioning

Rifton has done it again! Their new Rifton activity chair incorporates the best seating and positioning with dynamic seating. After consultation with therapists in the field, families and people who use the chair, Rifton has managed to make an old friend even better. This educational dynamic seating webinar includes testimony from clinicians that have been using the chair as well as a short review on the evidence that supports dynamic seating. Also in the webinar I discuss two studies, including one that suggests dynamic seating might be a solution to decrease dyskinesia in children with GMFCS Level 5 CP that have spasticity and dyskinesia. See a summary of the webinar transcript below.

Dynamic Seating Webinar Transcript summary:

Here is a summary of the webinar transcript; go to Dynamic Seating Webinar Complete Transcript to see the complete version.

Part 1
Ginny Paleg, DScPT, MPT, PT, a pediatric physical therapist from Silver Spring Maryland, describes the research findings of two studies on dynamic seating. One study, from a gait lab in Montana, found that children allowed to move in dynamic seating improved in their GMFM scores for standing and walking. Another study, from Italy, showed that when children with dystonia and dyskinesia were placed in dynamic seating, their pelvis positioning was less likely to go into posterior pelvic tilt, and their upper extremity control improved.

Part 2
Judi Rogers OTR/L, Karen Reeves MPT, and Martha Bloyer PT, DPT, PCS, speak from their expertise and experience as school-based therapists and pediatric specialists. Judi Rogers provides an informative discussion about the disadvantages of wheelchair sitting in the classroom, and the value of active, functional seating. Karen Reeves and Martha Bloyer provide introductory information about the Rifton Activity Chair, giving valuable explanations of the positioning options available utilizing the hi/lo feature and the seat and back angle adjustments.

Part 3
Ginny Paleg, DScPT, MPT, PT wraps up the Webinar with a case story. Hunter, with cerebral palsy, is shown with the Rifton Activity Chair, using the dynamic backrest, the hi-lo feature, and the accessories to his benefit. Hunter’s mother is interviewed and emphasizes the value and benefits of adaptive seating in use in the home.