How To's
Guidelines for Functional Use of the Pacer Gait Trainer Part II
The Pacer gait trainer is a walking device used in pediatric and adult rehabilitation settings to support individuals with disabilities for upright posture and ambulatory activities. Each Pacer component (or prompt) adjusts to accommodate various positioning needs, and is easily removed when it is no longer required.
Videos
MPS Posterior Adjustment
Watch this video to learn how to quickly and easily reverse the Multi Positioning Saddle (MPS) of the Rifton Pacer when using it as a posterior walker.
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...
PT/OT
A patient with spinal cord injury recovers with the aid of an E-Pacer
April 02, 2019
by Ray Mommsen, Rifton Marketing
Previously on our blog we shared a post about the use of Therabands with the TRAM from Linda Rusiecki, a physical therapist at Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids. In another post, Janette Tazzia and Linda Rusiecki tell about Janette’s recovery from a stroke. Now here’s a story of an individual impacted by a spinal cord injury who made remarkable gains with use of the Rifton E-Pacer in his...
Evidence Based Practice
Teens with Cerebral Palsy Benefit from Treadmill Gait Training – A Case Story
March 18, 2019
by Connie Johnson, PT, DScPT
As a pediatric physical therapist working in public schools, I want my students to move, and to move in the same way their peers do. When Rifton came out with the treadmill gait trainer, I was eager to explore increasing exercise intensity for my teenagers with mobility impairments. I was fortunate enough to get funding for one in my school. I went to the literature to look for protocols using gait treadmills for youth with disabilities and did not find much.
News
Seating and Wheeled Mobility
July 03, 2018
by Tamara Kittelson Aldred
If you are involved with wheelchair evaluations and recommendations for your clients – whether experienced or new on the block – this comprehensive and readable book is for you. Michelle Lange and Jean Minkel are well-known clinicians in the seating and wheeled mobility world. They gathered respected contributors with wide-ranging expertise for this well-rounded, thoroughly referenced volume...