THE BENEFITS OF TREADMILLS VS Presented By: Alexander Gentile

ANTI-GRAVITY TREADMILLS SPT, BS

PRE-TEST
 GOALS

1. The learner will understand the health benefits and capabilities of a regular treadmill in

physical therapy and exercise.

2. The learner will understand that the anti-gravity treadmills share the same health benefits

and capabilities as regular treadmills in physical therapy and exercise

3. The learner will develop a knowledge base about how anti-gravity treadmills surpass

regular treadmills in health benefits, capabilities and therapeutic rehabilitation potential.

 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
Cognitive
The learner will be able to identify appropriate patients for using either regular treadmills or anti-
gravity treadmills.
The learner will be able to explain to patients how an anti-gravity treadmill works and why it will help
the patient in their recovery.
Psychomotor
The learner will be able to determine the proper time to transition a patient from anti-gravity
treadmills to regular treadmills in a physical therapy clinic.
Affective
The learner will understand the value of having an anti-gravity treadmill instead of a regular treadmill
in their physical therapy clinic.
The learner will recognize the superior healing capabilities of an anti-gravity treadmill as compared
to a regular treadmill in a physical therapy clinic.
 TREADMILLS AND ANTIGRAVITY TREADMILLS
Treadmills
Anti-gravity treadmills
Aquatic therapy treadmills
Alter G treadmills

Picture above is of an ordinary treadmill courtesy of

http://www.cybexintl.com/products/treadmills.aspx

Picture to the right is of an Alter G treadmill courtesy

of http://torontophysiotherapy.ca/services/alterg-anti-
gravity-treadmill/
 TREADMILLS HEALTH BENEFITS
Treadmills have many health benefits for both healthy people and people recovering
from an injury/disability.
Health benefits include:
Improved musculoskeletal strength and tone
Improved joint flexibility
Improved cardiovascular fitness
Reduced risk of various diseases/disorders
Weight management
Improved mental and emotional health
 IMPROVED MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM AND
JOINT FLEXIBILITY
Walking on a treadmill helps you maintain a healthy musculoskeletal system
It helps you to develop and maintain healthy bones
Tones the muscles of your legs and buttocks

Walking on a treadmill helps you improve flexibility

It helps reduce the impact on your ankle, knee and hip joints
Moderate intensity walking keeps you joints flexible
Arthritis
Reduces the risk of re-injury with exercise or physical therapy
 IMPROVED CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS AND
REDUCED RISK OF DISEASES/DISORDERS
Walking on a treadmill improves your cardiovascular fitness
Strengthens your heart and helps to reduce blood pressure
Reduces risk of myocardial infarctions and strokes
Improved circulation (blood flow)

Walking on a treadmill reduces your risk for various diseases, such as:
Type 2 diabetes
Degenerative arthritis
Hypertension
Insomnia
 WEIGHT MANAGEMENT AND IMPROVED
MENTAL/EMOTIONAL HEALTH
Walking on a treadmill helps with weight management issues
Helps to keep up your metabolic rate
Provides you with an estimate of calories burned

Walking on a treadmill helps improve mental and emotional health

By releasing endorphins
Alleviates symptoms of depression
Helps reduce anxiety and mental tension
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Advantages
Relatively easy to use
Easy to negotiate with its predictable surface
All aspects of an exercise bout can be controlled by the user
Can design custom programs
Can feature step counters and heart rate monitors

Disadvantages
Can be expensive
Its cushioned surface may still be to jarring of an impact
Physical therapy patients need to be more advanced for use
 HEALTH BENEFITS OF TREADMILLS VS ANTI-
GRAVITY TREADMILLS

All of the health benefits that a regular treadmill can provide is also provided by
anti-gravity treadmills.
The only difference is anti-gravity treadmills surpass regular treadmills in therapeutic
rehabilitation potential.
 WHY ANTI-GRAVITY TREADMILLS ARE SUPERIOR
Has all the same health benefits as regular treadmills
Allows for patients to rehabilitate with less pain
Reduces risk for re-injury
Can act as both a therapeutic device and a wellness device
Creates a buoyancy using either air or water to support a disabled patient in a
vertical running position.
 ANTI-GRAVITY TREADMILL: AQUATIC THERAPY
TREADMILL
Aquatic therapy treadmills are important for physical therapists to have because:
A patient might not be able to tolerate their own body weight
Disabled patients can stand vertically and even run on aquatic therapy treadmills

Physical therapists have found that many dry land exercise are even more beneficial
in water
Aquatic rehab assists in improving ROM, cardiorespiratory endurance, gait patterns, and helps to maximally contract lower
extremity musculature
Aquatic rehab assists in a safe transition to dry land by improving joint mechanics and muscular strength
Closed chain exercises and progressive weight bearing are achieved earlier
Open chain exercises will minimize excessive loading
Aquatic rehabilitation assists in injury prevention and a safe therapeutic environment to provide overall
improved performance
 AQUATIC THERAPY TREADMILLS: CONTINUED
Being able to unload the joints allows for faster healing
Allows for intro of normal biomechanics and joint fluidity

Increasing submersion to different levels of the body creates reduced weight bearing
through buoyancy
Chest deep in water is 40% weight bearing and Waist deep is 60% weight bearing

The buoyancy of the water helps reduce the stress on an individual as they exercise
Ground reaction forces of a heel strike are three times an individuals bodyweight on dry land
This explains why it is so difficult for patients with trauma injuries or disabilities to walk or stand up on dry land
 AQUATIC THERAPY TREADMILLS
US 4712788 A, Aquatic Exercise Apparatus
This particular aquatic therapy treadmill is wheel
chair accessible
Has platform to wheel onto and off of

Has multiple levels of submersion

Is portable
Hydraulic powered lift

http://www.google.tk/p
atents/US4712788
 ANTI-GRAVITY TREADMILLS: ALTER G
An Alter G treadmill is a type of lower body positive pressure (LBPP) treadmill
Like aquatic therapy treadmills they use buoyance to provide un-weighted exercise
for patients.
Uses a pressurized chamber that lifts the user up and creates buoyancy like effect in
the air
The pressurized chamber is maintained by wearing special pants that zip into the chamber

Decreased axial loads allows for early closed chained exercises and weight bearing
 ALTER G: CONTINUED
Allows for faster healing in a safe and supported environment
Allows for user friendly adjustable un-weighting
Can be un-weighted from 99% down to 20% body weight decreasing by 1% increments

By increasing the pressure chamber to above ambient pressure the net ground
reaction forces are reduced
Net ground reaction force= body weight axial load of the pressure chamber

The Alter G has no significant effects on:

Stride length
Knee and ankle ROM
Muscle EMG firing

The Alter Ge does have a decrease in muscle EMG peak amplitude

 ALTER G: CONTINUED
The Alter G is usable in Physical Therapy for
patients with:
An injury or recent surgery to hip, knees, ankles or feet
A total joint replacement
Neurological patients with strength deficiencies and gait
abnormalities
Elderly fall risk patients
Obese patients
Arthritic patients

http://www.leememorial.org/mainl
anding/alter-g-treadmill-reduces-
weight-on-joints.asp
 TAKE HOME MESSAGE
Anti-gravity treadmills provide all the same health benefits as regular treadmills
Anti-gravity treadmills are accessible to a larger portion of a physical therapists
population.
Promotes faster healing with out functional losses or gained abnormalities
They are expensive
Though they can be a big draw for patients and doctors that can bring in extra
revenue from referrals.
POST-TEST
 POST-TEST ANSWERS
1. D
2. False
3. E
4. False
5. A
6. D
QUESTIONS??
 REFERENCES
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2016. Available at: http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/benefits-treadmill-walking-4261.html.
Accessed July 28, 2016
2. Treadmills for Exercise and Pain Relief. Spine-health. 2016. Available at:
http://www.spine-health.com/wellness/exercise/treadmills-exercise-and-pain-relief.
Accessed July 28, 2016.
3. Allen JAllen J. Benefits of Treadmill Exercise. LIVESTRONGCOM. 2013. Available at:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/342795-benefits-of-treadmill-exercise/. Accessed July 28,
2016.
4. Draovitch P, Maschi R, Hettler J. Return to sport following hip injury. Current Reviews in
Musculoskeletal Medicine. 2012;5(1):9-14. doi:10.1007/s12178-011-9106-7.
5. Gaudreau Jr. C. US4712788 (A) - Aquatic exercise apparatus. 1987.
6. Altergcom. 2016. Available at: http://www.alterg.com/products/anti-gravity-
treadmills/m320-f320/professional-pt. Accessed July 30, 2016.