Performance Medicine helps patients rehab safer and faster with the AlterG® Anti-Gravity Treadmill®

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Performance Medicine, a department of CHI St. Luke’s Health–The Woodlands Hospital, has installed the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill, the world’s first and only treadmill using NASA based anti-gravity technology, to help patients and clients in their rehabilitation, conditioning and performance training.

AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmills are designed to be used for lower body injury and surgery rehabilitation, aerobic conditioning, weight control and reduction, sport specific conditioning programs, neurologic retraining, and geriatric strength and conditioning.

On Tuesday, July 29, and Thursday, July 31, from 4 to 6 p.m. Performance Medicine will host community open house events to demonstrate the new treadmill and introduce the facility’s trainers and physical therapists. The events are free and open to the public and will include door prizes and light refreshments.

"This is a cutting-edge piece of rehabilitation equipment that has multiple benefits across a wide range of patient populations,” said David Argueta, Interim President, CHI St. Luke’s Health–The Woodlands Hospital and Lakeside Hospital. “Following its promising start in sports medicine and excellent clinical outcomes, it’s now expanding into other areas of rehabilitation, physical therapy and sports performance. We are excited to offer this elite level of innovative training.”

With the AlterG, patients can run and walk without bearing their entire weight, reducing the impact on the body to optimize rehabilitation and physical therapy outcomes thanks to the Differential Air Pressure (DAP) technology which applies a lifting force to the body that reduces weight on the lower extremities and allows precise unweighting – up to 80 percent of a person’s body weight.

Patients with neurological disorders maintain, and in some cases even regain, functionality and mobility working with the AlterG. It is also used as a motivational tool for obese patients, as users can immediately experience what it would feel like to weigh less, exercise with less joint impact and stress, and improve their cardiovascular health.

“The Alter-G began in sports medicine to help athletes recover faster from operative treatments that required prolonged periods of decreased weight bearing, which after a few days and especially weeks results in the atrophy of many components of the musculoskeletal system,” said Andrew Arthur, PT, DPT, OCS, STC, CSCS, Director of Clinical Services and Human Performance, Performance Medicine. “We are utilizing the Alter-G in several programs to help our patients and clients reach their goals.”

Performance Medicine is located on the campus of CHI St. Luke’s Health–The Woodlands Hospital in the Medical Arts Center Building III (MAC III) at 17450 St. Luke's Way, Suite 350. For more information, call 936-266-3130 or visit stlukesperformancemedicine.com.