Suffering from a very angry strained soleus calf muscle and achilles tendonitis. Haven't been able to run for 6 weeks, and Physical Therapist said I'll be lucky if I can in 6 more..but not to count on it. This one's a "doosey"...
So I told him..how am I going to run 100 miles if I can't even run 1? Let's just say...I spent the rest of my session educating him on ultra marathons, my running goals and convincing him I'm not crazy..LOL
Anyways...he jumped on my band wagon and did some research and found a treadmill that might help me and I wanted to know if any of my Running with Eric buddies have ever used this... there isn't one close by so I'd have to travel about 45 minutes or so to get to one...and that is if the senior rehabilitation center will let me even use it..
It's called an AlterG treadmill...(Anti Gravity Treadmill)
Any feedback is greatlly appreciated...
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My physical therapist has one at his facility. Basically, you put on a pair of "wetsuit triathlon shorts" that has a bib. This bib has a zipper which mates with the one on the AlterG anti-gravity chamber. You step into the chamber, and the lower half of your body is zipped into it. You can control how much "gravity" you experience during your workout. He coaxed me into trying if during my warm-up prior to treatment. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I was able to run a 5 min mile for the first time in a long time :-). Alberto Salazar's athletes use them to get extra miles minus the pounding. Another option, when you have injuries like this, is to get a "water jogging" belt and hit the pool. Same principle with the added resistance of the water.
you should be seeing DRs with 100mile'r belt buckles on their walls. convincing most DRs that running is actually a natural occurrence for humans is surprisingly hard!
Hey Barb,
Sorry to hear about your injury. I had a friend who used it for rehabbing a torn achilles. As I understand it, it works on reducing the pressure on your legs so you can get the cardio benefits w/out the pounding on your legs. The percentages of the pressure varies, he liked it and said it allowed him to keep in shape while rehabbing. So what race are you going to do and when is it? Drop me an email if you like. Hope you get better soon.
Haven't heard of it, but sounds cool! Sorry to hear about the injury, but hang in there and listen to your body!