Tips & Advice
Beyond the Stander
May 28, 2020
by Elena Noble, MPT
Encouraging standing development means thinking creatively. In the home, we can teach standing skills during routine sit-to-stand transfers or toileting breaks. Here’s how to get started.
Tips & Advice
Guidelines for Functional Use of the Pacer Gait Trainer Part I
October 07, 2019
by Elena Noble, MPT
The Pacer gait trainer is a walking device used across pediatric settings and adult rehabilitation settings to support individuals with disabilities in upright postures and ambulatory activities. With the appropriate supports in the gait trainer, independent mobility becomes a possibility. Each Pacer accessory (or prompt) adjusts to accommodate any positioning need or is otherwise easily removed to...
Tips & Advice
Pacer Prompt Reduction
July 16, 2019
by Lori Potts, PT
See also: Part 2: Prompt Reduction Strategies.
Using the Rifton Pacer’s full range of adjustment possibilities will help you meet goals for mobility and activity. Individuals who cannot bear weight fully through their lower extremities, or need prompting for alignment need appropriately positioned prompts and supports. Motor skills acquisition and strength building are best achieved when an...
Tips & Advice
What To Do About Gait Trainer Seat Sitters
June 10, 2019
by Elena Noble, MPT
Do you work with children whose hips won’t stay forward during gait training? Or those kids who sit on the seat of a gait trainer when you want them upright? Whether from hypotonia or decreased core stabilization, here is a great idea to help cue those hips forward in the Rifton gait trainer.
1. Position the handholds of the Rifton Pacer upside down and towards the back of the top bar.
2. After...
Tips & Advice
Using Thigh Straps in Sling Configuration for Toileting or Seat-to-Seat Transfers
October 08, 2018
by Barbara Stacy, PT, MOMT
At Desert Mountain SELPA in Apple Valley, California, we’ve discovered a creative solution for seated transfers with the TRAM. This method works really well, particularly for the more profoundly involved kids. Using the standard approach shown in the TRAM Quick Reference Guide (with a thigh strap placed separately under each leg) often results in the body support system riding up the student’s...
Tips & Advice
Facilitating Stepping in Inpatient Rehabilitation
August 13, 2018
by Linda Rusiecki PT, DPT, CBIS
We have used Rifton products in our facility for the last two years with our adult neuro patients, primarily with stroke, brain injury, and brain tumor resection, though they have also been useful with patients with incomplete spinal cord injury and demyelinating diseases.