Question
What is a gait trainer?
Answer
Gait trainers are primarily used with children, but they can be used with a variety of ages. Gait trainers support a client in a standing position both to augment mobility and to provide dynamic weight-bearing. Gait trainers sometimes are considered a hybrid type of walker that just adds additional support. However our goals with a gait trainer can be very different when compared to a walker.
A walker is primarily designed to help a client get from point A to point B. Gait trainers are often used in addition to other mobility devices to meet specific therapy goals, and to develop ambulation skills. There are a lot of studies out there that support the use of weight-bearing with our clients as there are many advantages, from increased bone density, muscle strength, and bowel and bladder control. More recent research has shown that simply staying in a static stander, although helpful, is not nearly as efficient as some type of dynamic weight-bearing.
Continued and its subsidiaries provide professional education authored by qualified Subject Matter Experts for continuing education purposes. These materials are intended for educational purposes and do not constitute medical advice or a substitute for individual clinical judgment. Continued is not a clinical healthcare provider; the licensed professional is solely responsible for ensuring that the application of any techniques or information presented is within their legal scope of practice and jurisdictional requirements.
