![]() For example, a runner could hop on the anti-gravity treadmill the day after a long run or hard interval workout as a way to log mileage while going easy on their joints and muscles. “It's great for any athlete that potentially just feels like they need to build an easier day into their week,” says Fraleigh. With anti-gravity treadmill training, the authors noted, athletes can have a “smooth transition back to ground running in a conditioned state.”Ĭampbell, who’s been using the anti-gravity treadmill with clients for about seven or eight years, says that the anti-gravity treadmill can help injured athletes get back to running sooner than they otherwise would, and in some cases, they may not even have to take time off from running at all.Īnti-gravity treadmills can also be used as a recovery tool for non-injured athletes. Compared to traditional rehab methods, the anti-gravity treadmill can help runners preserve their aerobic fitness, muscle activation patterns, and muscle mass as they recover, per the paper. Indeed, anti-gravity treadmills are useful “across a spectrum of injuries in runners,” according to the authors of a 2022 paper published in Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation. Anti-gravity treadmills are helpful in this scenario because they reduce the load on your joints and tissues, allowing you to safely practice the mechanics of running (or walking) without enduring as much impact on your body, Campbell explains. ![]() Who should use an anti-gravity treadmill?Īs we mentioned, anti-gravity treadmills are most often used for folks recovering from injury or surgery-say, following a stress fracture, ACL surgery, shin splints, or in Renner’s case, severe injuries that require multiple surgeries. Sara Hall: 6 Tips on Coping With a Stubborn Injury.“It’s very difficult for people to understand it until they actually experience it,” says Campbell. Now, that may not make a whole lot of sense until you try it yourself. “It’s really like you’re walking on the moon,” he says. “It just feels kind of like you’re floating and running.”Ĭampbell says the anti-gravity treadmill provides the same buoyancy effect you’d get running in a pool, but without the thickness of water pushing against you. “You can’t feel the shock of the ground quite as much,” he says. “Super goofy,” is how Fraleigh describes his experience on an anti-gravity treadmill. Just know that it’s going to feel a bit, um, different. Once the chamber is calibrated, you can simply start running, as you would on a normal treadmill. Check out this video from the Michigan Medicine for a visual demonstration. Technology inside the chamber calibrates to your bodyweight and fills the chamber with air, which creates a “lifting effect on the body,” Fraleigh explains. Then, these shorts (and thus you) get zipped into the cocoon, which is basically a giant air chamber. in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, tells Runner’s World. Using an anti-gravity treadmill requires more set-up than simply stepping onto the machine and pressing start.įirst, you don specialized shorts, which are like a mix between a short wetsuit and a kayak spray skirt, Chris Campbell, P.T., D.P.T., C.S.C.S., president and owner of Sport & Spine Physical Therapy, Inc. Fraleigh currently uses the AlterG with clients about one to two days a week. For instance, with the AlterG (a specific brand of anti-gravity treadmill), you can diminish your bodyweight up to 80 percent, meaning you can experience what it’s like to stride with just 20 percent of your normal weight.Īn anti-gravity treadmill looks like a standard treadmill but has a “big plastic cocoon” attached to the outer railing, Brandon Fraleigh, P.T., D.P.T., physical therapist and head of the Runner’s Clinic at the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Sports Medicine Center, tells Runner’s World. It’s up to the user how much weight you want to shave off. We tapped two physical therapists to learn more about anti-gravity treadmills, including how they work, who they’re for, and where you can give one a whirl.Īn anti-gravity treadmill is a special type of treadmill that reduces the effects of gravity and allows you to run at a fraction of your bodyweight. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play
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