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Second Step, Inc. was founded in 1989 in Florida. Second
Step, Inc.’s corporate and sales offices are now located in
Oregon.
Second Step, Inc. has invested years of research &
development in nursing homes, in-patient clinics,
out-patient clinics, rehabilitation institutes, research and
educational institutions, and hospitals. The consortium of
input was provided early on by physical therapists and other
caregivers who clearly identified the need for the Gait
Harness System®. The principals of Second Step, Inc.
recognized these therapy challenges and organized a research
and development team, with a variety of members, to develop
solutions to the problems of aiding the recovery of gait and
balance patients in rehabilitation. At times, the team has
consisted of engineering designers, prototype builders, and
biomedical researchers in Miami, Florida. The engineering
designs were produced by David Dubats, one of the principals
of Second Step, Inc. After the drawings were complete, his
designs were evaluated and analyzed by a multi-disciplinary
human factors team and recommendations were incorporated
into a final, production-ready design.
Upon completion of the Second Step Gait Harness System®, a
team of physical therapists began using the System in
clinics. Their input was implemented at the early stages of
design and could now be examined in clinical settings. The
original intention by the designers was to create an
adaptive and assistive system that will allow patients to
resume their activities of daily living in relation to
standing and walking. It was quickly discovered that the
Gait Harness System® expanded its utilizations far beyond
the assistive and adaptive arena.
In addition to the assistive and adaptive settings where the
System is used (such as nursing homes and adult care living
facilities for general maintenance and restorative care
programs), the Gait Harness System® was quickly applied to
recovery-based therapy for higher and lower level clients
who required parallel bars or the assistance of several
caregivers to conduct therapy. Anecdotal evidence rapidly
emerged as Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury
clients began walking for the first time since their
injuries post 10 and 20 years in clinics, under the
supervision of teams of therapists and doctors.
The Second Step Gait Harness System® is effective for patients
with gait and balance challenges, as well as early start
therapy programs and restorative nursing. For the first two
groups, the facility can begin therapies earlier, speed
recoveries, and prevent injuries. For restorative nursing,
which helps maintain the general health of residents, the
Gait Harness System® will improve the quality of the
program and provide a competitive advantage for the facility. In the durable medical
industry the Second Step, Inc. Gait Harness System® is one
of a kind, as the cost/benefits and users are very specific.
In addition, no other system provides the same combination
of therapeutic advantages, safety and ease of use.
Understanding the Gait Harness System®
and its applications to the life and health of any patient
is due in part to the fundamental design of the System, and
then to the application of physical therapy principles and
the fundamentals of physiology, biomechanics and neurology.
Traditionally, treatment has focused on adaptation, or
learning to live with the resulting
impairments. Through utilizations of the Gait Harness
System®
in different settings, we begin to see patterns of longer,
recovery-focused care following the initial injury, rather
than repeat care, targeting adaptations. A therapist using
the Gait Harness System® for several years has one group of
patients at a particular facility who were all told they
would never walk again—only two now use a wheelchair as
their primary locomotion.
In recent years we have seen utilizations with complete and
incomplete SCI clients. If a patient is wearing a brace or
orthotic, the therapist will find help getting them up, but
once in, they can walk with them alone. If the patient gets
tired, they can just lean back and take a standing rest
break, then go again. Patient comments include they feel
comfortable with the Gait Harness System®,
because they are better able to focus on walking, rather
than simply not falling.
There are wide spread examples of clients and therapists
using the Gait Harness System®
successfully; examples which have now spanned over a
decade. Using the System, many patients are now beginning to
walk and stand again for the first time in many years. Other
individuals who have suffered TBI’s and SCI’s and are 5, 10,
and 15 years post injury are experiencing similar results.
Recovery of function is becoming more common because the
System allows therapists and patients to work more
efficiently together towards a common goal.
Therapists report that the Second Step Gait Harness System®
has also allowed several patients, who had stopped walking,
to regain their ambulatory ability. They comment that it
has been especially useful for hemiplegic participants who
have very poor balance, and are therefore at high risk for
falls. The Gait Harness System®
provides safety not only for the patients, but also for the
staff members who are walking with them.
A therapist in Tampa Florida who has had over 10 years
experience using the Gait Harness System®
expresses that it is clear it is a fundamental tool, which
should be used in any facility or home where patients have a
need of a safe environment for standing, walking or
performing other functional activities. The safety of the
System benefits patients, family, facility and insurance
program alike.
Many facilities use the Gait Harness System®
daily with almost all patients. These facilities have had
great success using the System for static/dynamic balance
activities, trunk strength/coordination, and pre-gait/gait
activities (this is done with tetraplegics and paraplegics
of all levels). Commentary is that the unique harness is
extremely comfortable, works very well with braces, and
reduces the number of seated rest breaks with any standing
activity.
The Gait Harness System®
provides therapist and patient with the tool they need to
accomplish a necessary step in the recovery process. The
team effort of using the System, functioning together with
the patient, works time and time again.
The System also
allows for a creative, responsive and innovative approach
that considers the many physiologic, biomechanical, and
biochemical factors, as well as the individual’s opinions,
emotional and spiritual needs.
Therapists try different things until they find the method
or techniques that will work. Use of the Gait Harness System®
has enabled many therapists to work with each patient alone,
rather than requiring the assistance of two or three staff
members.
The Gait
Harness System® as a whole allows for a therapist to
efficiently address the needs of patient from the acute to
the chronic setting. Therapists have seen an undeniable need
for the Gait Harness System, and a recovery focused ideology
to be implemented throughout a patient’s continuum of care.
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