Hello, class!  Our lecture this week will be about GRAVITY!!  I know . . . you already know all about gravity.  Do you remember watching the astronauts walk on the moon, where gravity was absent?  They were sooo light on their feet and it looked like sooo much fun!  Well . . . this fall I attended a national physical therapy conference and at the trade show I saw a new FDA approved medical device called the AlterG.  As I explored it, I realized it was the most exciting new rehabilitation device I have ever seen in all my 30+ years of clinical experience.  The Alter G is a special treadmill that allows a person to walk or run with as little as 20% of your body weight.  That's ALMOST like walking on the moon.  The AlterG allows support for the torso (a little or a lot) at the same time it takes most of the weight bearing stress off the joints of the lower extremities.  Wow!!  This means that post operative patients can begin walking or running when they are still allowed to bear only 20% of their body weight!  It means that athletes can continue to train even as their injuries are still healing!  It means that a person with MS or Parkinson's Disease can walk or run without worrying about falling down or being too weak to move the legs!

This is the most exciting advance I have ever seen in outpatient rehabilitation!!  And . . . Santa just delivered the AlterG to Alliance Physical Therapy this week!  We will be sharing more with you in the weeks ahead and inviting you to stop in and try it out!  If you think this is something that could help you, call Alliance Physical Therapy today!

Yours in health,

Karen (walkin' on air)