As a physical therapist, I get asked all the time for my opinion on different exercise equipment or workout programs. I am always happy to give my advice, but most of the time I have to report on what I have heard or read because I don't usually have the chance to try it out.
I didn't want that to be the case when I started getting questions about the newest piece of equipment in our Sports Medicine Center: the Alter-G Treadmill. This anti-gravity treadmill has been the source of many inquiries in the clinic since its arrival earlier this month. So in order to better answer the questions, I threw on a pair of the special shorts and zipped myself into the "cockpit" last week to go for a run.
| Due to the amazing technology of this machine, you are able to adjust the pressure of the large plastic bubble that inflates around you to decrease your body weight while walking or running. Even when running at 80 percent of my body weight, I had the feeling of floating along (which is not what I normally feel like while running). I could even increase the speed to much faster than I would normally do. |
 |
We are excited to have this in our center now because of the many ways we can use it: speeding up rehab protocols to allow a quicker return to sports, training for long distance runners to decrease the impact on the joints for injury prevention, or overspeed training for athletes in our Performance Enhancement Program. We're also looking forward to finding other ways that our patients and community members will benefit from this revolutionary piece of equipment.