Clinical applications of the paraplegic swivel walker.

An account is given of ten years experience of swivel walkers in 135 paraplegics of all ages and types. The majority of patients were victims of spinal bifida. Reference is made to the importance of engineering design and proper maintenance of the orthosis. The degree to which the device is utilized is discussed and the particular value it has in young children is stressed. Further developments, especially those which satisfy the increasing demand for the device for adult use are mentioned, notably those needed to simplify the problems of transfer into and from the device.