Mercy Health Foundation funded 3 AlterG© treadmills

What is AlterG© anti-gravity rehabilitation?

Thanks to our donors, the Mercy Health Foundation funded a total of 3 Alter G treadmills. These will give our Mercy Health Out Patient Rehabilitation & Therapy patients a significant advantage. “With the Alter G, patients with a variety of conditions can run and walk without bearing their entire weight,” said Michael A. McCormack Jr., PT, MHS, SCS, ATC, Regional Director of Rehabilitation Services, Mercy Health.  “This reduces the impact on their bodies so they can rehab better, train smarter and exercise safely.”

The Alter G features an inflatable air chamber. The air chamber surrounds the user’s lower body and gently lifts the runner off the treadmill to achieve a body weight that is 20 to 99% of the user’s actual weight. This helps lower impact on muscles and joints.

In other words, if you weigh 200 pounds and use the Alter G at the 20% setting, you can run as if you weigh 40 pounds. If you want to feel what trimming 20 pounds off would be like, then use the 90% setting to train at 180 pounds.

The Alter G Anti-Gravity treadmill helps injured runners continue their training. The Alter G is also a great rehabilitation tool for post-operative patients. By allowing patients to start partial weight-bearing exercise immediately after surgery, they can reap the benefits of rehabilitative exercise without the pain it would usually induce.

The Alter G can provide benefits for patients with a host of other conditions that running may not typically be considered a solution for. For example, patients with foot, knee or hip arthritis that causes pain when walking can take part in pain-free exercise with the Alter G. Patients with metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions that includes increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels, can use the Alter G to ease into a fitness program.

How to try the Alter G treadmill

If you’re interested in trying the Alter G, trials are available at the following locations:

• Mercy Health – Oregon Outpatient Rehabilitation and Therapy located at 3851 Navarre Avenue, Oregon, OH, 43616, 419-696-7203
• Mercy Health – Perrysburg Outpatient Rehabilitation and Therapy located at 13415 Eckel Junction Road, Perrysburg, OH, 43551, 419-251-8788
• Mercy Health – Sylvania Outpatient Rehabilitation and Therapy located at 3930 Sunforest Court, Toledo, OH, 43623, 419-251-1121

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