Saves valuable space, combines parallel bars and adjustable training stairs into a 95" x 35" footprint. Motivates patients to gain confidence, improve balance and achieve the ability to climb steps so they can return home faster and with fewer limitations. DST therapy stair trainer with electronically adjustable steps, can individually accommodate each patient from their first day of therapy. Push button controls adjust the 4 steps in 1cm increments up to 6 ½". One hand rail adjusts in width to personalize the DST for each patient's ability.
New accessories enhance the scope of patients that can benefit from DST. Reversible Stairs Ramp, 3 additional steps can be converted into a slope. An additional Width Adjustable Handrail can be added to provide a maximum of handrail width adjustments for a variety of patients. Long Handrails extend the use of the DST as regular parallel bars.
Keep track of patients' activities and progress easily by using the "DST-CHART OF PROGRESS".
Give patients the most advance treatment available
Move quickly between patients requiring practice stairs.
Combine Gait training on parallel bars with stair training with a push of a button, and give patients a complete session.
Benefits of the DST combined training stair and parallel bars for Hospitals and Rehabilitation Facilities
Compact footprint saves space.
Achieve increased efficiency and number of patients receiving stair training.
Provide a secure, environment that allows one therapist to treat even the most difficult patients, and still achieve effective results with stair training.
Offer therapy to patients previously not eligible for stair training by progressing from parallel bars to stairs.
Cost savings from time lost while improvising steps and stairs.
Cost savings from more efficient and accurate charting
DST Evaluation
The Dynamic Stair Trainer - DST
The Dynamic Stair Trainer (DST) is an innovative new device designed to transition from parallel bars into the gradual practice of stair-climbing skills for people undergoing physical rehabilitation.
The apparatus features four steps whose height can be adjusted electronically from zero to 16.5 centimeters (0- 6.5 inches) between steps.
The DST is also equipped with parallel bars on either side; the height of the parallel bars can be adjusted to become handrails.
The DST is designed for patients who need exercise to regain their ability to use steps following illness, heart problems, stroke, orthopedic injuries, car or work accidents, surgery (including knee replacement), neurological injuries or amputations. It is ideal for anyone requiring physical rehabilitation, including children.
The Uses of the DST
Step climbing is a basic everyday skill, which is why physical therapists emphasize practicing on steps: to enable patients to return to their natural environment as quickly as possible with a minimum of restrictions on their mobility.
Stair climbing provides many other side benefits, including general strengthening of the body, improved coordination, enhanced self-confidence and improved balance.
The ability to adjust the step height to precisely suit each patient's level enables early step exercises during the very first stages of rehabilitation, immediately after they are able to walk - and sometimes even before.
Push button height adjustment electronically to match the patient's needs. Readjust step height during the exercise session if necessary.
The trainer is ideal for rehabilitation centers, hospitals, physical therapy departments, clinics and more.
The advantages of the DST
The DST was tested over a period of several months at numerous rehabilitation centers. Here are the findings:
Practicing step climbing at an earlier stage of rehabilitation:
Because the steps could be adjusted so accurately to the patient's level of ability, exercise comuld begin at an earlier stage of rehabilitation. On regular steps or on a wooden step device, the height of the steps is fixed, usually at 16.5 centimeters (6.5 inches) and the handrail position is also fixed. A patient who cannot yet climb steps of this height cannot begin stepping exercises. With this device, we can adjust the parallel bar and step height to exactly what the patient was able to do and thus begin exercise at an earlier stage.
Some patients began climbing the steps at a height of one centimeter and within two days succeeded in climbing steps three centimeters high. Five days later they were able to climb eight-centimeter steps.
By introducing this exercise at such an early stage, the entire rate of the patient's progress increases - not only the ability to climb steps, but also the ability to walk.
Reciprocal ascension of steps:
In other cases, the DST allowed patients to ascend and descend steps reciprocally. A common phenomenon among people with one weak leg is to climb steps by leading with the strong leg and dragging the weaker one up to it. By adjusting the DST to the functional level of the weaker leg, patients succeeded in climbing steps reciprocally, rather than by dragging the weaker leg to catch up with the stronger one. The exercise contributed greatly to the patients' progress, and eventually we were able to increase the height of the steps while maintaining reciprocal ascent
Increased patient motivation:
An interesting and important aspect of the use of DST was the dramatic increase in patients' motivation to perform the exercise. We know that stair training exercise on steps can be fraught with frustration, pain and anxiety. Adjusting the height of the steps precisely to the current ability of the patient offers a feeling of achievement as well as reassurance that they will be able to perform this important exercise after their release from the hospital. As one patient said "Now I'll be able to climb the stairs at home." This increased motivation was visible in the patients' willingness and desire to exercise.
Patients would go up and down the steps several times, with the physiotherapist increasing the height of the steps from time to time. They could actually see their own improvement as they found themselves able to ascend steps at a height that only a few days before had been too high for them.
The modern design of the device and its electrical self-adjustment mechanism gave the patients a feeling of being in a fitness room rather than in a hospital. One patient said: "It's a real high-tech instrument".
By the end of the treatment, both the patient and the physiotherapist were convinced that the improvement, which in the past entailed great effort, time, and often frustration and pain, was accomplished much more quickly and easily using the DST.
Adjustable parallel bar/handrail height and width:
The possibility of adjusting the height of and distance between the parallel bar/handrails offered the staff much greater flexibility in practice. With the height of the rail adjusted to suit the patient's height and condition, the patient could concentrate more firmly on his main task.
Adjusting the distance between the rails enabled patients who required it to ascend with handrail support on both sides. Other patients, in contrast, needed greater distance between the rails so that they could hold onto the handrail with one hand and an auxiliary aid, such as a cane or walker, with the other.
Shortening rehabilitation time:
In essence, all the points mentioned above contributed to reducing the time required to acquire step-climbing skills and thus of the entire rehabilitation process. The savings in time required to learn to cope with steps was at times quite dramatic.
Adoption of the DST by the staff:
It usually takes quite some time for a medical staff to adopt a new device or apparatus. With the DST, the medical staff was exceptionally enthusiastic and responses such as "Where has this device been until now?" and "How did we get along without it until now?" were common.
Savings and efficiency:
The DST saved us treatment time and space making work more efficient. Instead of improvising various kinds of platforms with steps of different heights to meet the patient's needs, the physical therapist simply pressed the button for immediate perfect adjustment.
DST for Seniors
The Patient Way to Keep In Step
It's a known fact that as we age, mobility and independent function become more difficult.
Quality of life is often based on mundane activities such as going to the theatre, taking a stroll in the park, or going down to the lobby for a visit with family and friends. Such activities require independent mobility.
A senior's fitness and ability to negotiate stairs successfully affect almost every aspect of his everyday life and activities. In extreme cases, a senior might not be able to cross the road safely because of the difficulty of mounting a curb.
The DST's main objective is stair training. Seniors can start parallel bar and stair training gradually according to their physical abilities. The step height can be increased until they reach the standard height.
Occasionally seniors suffer a trauma from a fall or a weakness due to illness, etc... They lose their confidence and find themselves in a vicious circle: insecurity leads to avoiding stairs, by avoiding stairs they reduce their fitness, mobility and quality of life.
The DST can help break this cycle. It is a user-friendly stair trainer; seniors can set the desired height according to their comfort and eventually attain the physical fitness and confidence required for standard stairs.
As the world's aging population increases so does the need for stair climbing skills. The DST can help preserve quality of life for our seniors.
DST and Children
We are finding that more and more DSTs are used by rehabilitation centers for children.
Children all over the world enjoy priority when the resources of healthcare are distributed among the needy population. The main reason is that children benefit the most from intensive rehabilitation and physical therapy treatment. The DST plays a significant role in rehabilitating children, and is warmly embraced by physiotherapists who work with them.
Our experience shows that the DST can be used for parallel bar and stair training by children as young as five years of age.
The DST for children with Cerebral Palsy
The video below displays in the Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation (CPIRF) site. You can witness the use of the DST for children with Cerebral Palsy.
CPIRF provides financial support to rigorously reviewed, scientifically important research relevant to cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities. CPIRF also provides medical expertise as requested by other organizations. CPIRF serves as a resource for the international public, clinicians and policy-makers about best health care practices, prevention and curative strategies for cerebral palsy.
