Do You Tweet?

By Kate | Published: July 22, 2010

More and more these days the term “social networking” has become part of our vocabulary and way of life.  There are all sorts of various uses such as, communication with friends and family, promoting business, keeping track of news & events, and even keeping up to date with technology itself as it moves into the future at warp speed.

A myriad of networking applications have been created to make ’social’ accessibility easier than ever, Heck there are even apps for these on our smartphones…But what do they do?

The icons below only represent a few of the applications out there.  Included in this image are:  LinkedIn, Twitter, RSS, Facebook, Delicious, Flickr, Digg, FriendFeed & StumbleUpon…whew!  And this is just a sample of the 100 others available!

So how are these sites useful to you?

Many people utilize these sites for personal use, however more businesses are leveraging them to help spread awareness and promote their own companies.  It’s amazing how many users have registered accounts to more than one of these sites and logging in everyday to access them.  Here at AlterG, we recently polled some statistics from the net to research the amount of web traffic these top sites are getting, and the results are amazing!

We continued with our search on how these sites could benefit your business and I came across the “Social Media Road Map,” a fabulous document that guides a PT business owner into the world of establishing a social networking presence for their clinic.  There are many websites out there that offer guided steps to help you create business profiles…of course, for a nominal fee :)  This document is extremely helpful and absolutely free!

The decision to create an AlterG Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube account was made months ago and so far have been a great success with sharing news among our user clinics, patients, athletes, and fans.  We encourage all physical therapy clinics to set up profiles for their facilities to ’self-promote’ within their community.  Patient stories, clinic services and the company staff & background are all interesting to help create a greater awareness for your facility.

Here are a few examples of physical therapy clinics that have established social networking pages:

We would love to hear how you have integrated social networking into your business promotion – feel free to comment below!

–Kate @Alter_G

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New Journal Article Highlights Potential Benefits of Lower Body Positive Pressure In Orthopedic Rehabilitation

By Jacon Chun MPT SCS ATC CSCS | Published: July 16, 2010

A journal article published in the June 2010 issue of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation concluded that lower body positive pressure (LBPP) treadmill training devices could be highly effective for rehabilitation after orthopedic injuries and/or orthopedic procedures.

Body weight support has been used historically to unweight the lower extremities in orthopedic and neurological rehabilitation. The unweighting allows for decreased biomechanical stress to the musculoskeletal system, thus allowing for proper healing in orthopedic conditions. The ability to repeat walking movements safely and improve the quality of movement by modifying pain, also make partial weight bearing therapy an important part of treating neurological conditions.

Using the AlterG anti-gravity treadmill, researchers at the University of Colorado studied the effects of the only LBPP treadmill on the market today on walking. When compared to other unweighting modalities currently available, LBPP treadmill provides a huge advantage in maintaining normal gait kinematics, in ability to precisely measure amount of unloading, and in comfort to allow for use over extended periods of time. The goal of this study was to determine how velocity or weight support changes would affect the metabolic demands and ground reaction forces (GRF’s) during walking.

About the Study

Using 10 healthy volunteer subjects, researchers measured metabolic power, GRF’s, and stride kinematics while each of the subjects walked at 3 velocities (1.0, 1.25.1.5 m/s) and 5 unloading parameters (25%, 50%, 75%, 85% and Full Body Weight).

Results showed that at the faster velocities, peak GRF’s and metabolic demands were higher. Walking at a lower body weight, the peak GRF’s were attenuated and metabolic demands decreased. By manipulating velocity and body weight support, the researchers showed similar aerobic demands could be created on the individual with decreased GRF’s, simply by increasing walking speed at higher amounts of unloading.

The study concluded that this ability to maintain cardiovascular demands with lower GRF’s shows LBPP treadmill devices could help optimize outcomes in future lower extremity treatment programs. While more studies may be needed to determine specific orthopedic indications and prescriptions, the ability to maintain neuromuscular and aerobic stimuli while reducing forces on the LE, by unweighting devices like the AlterG, could prove invaluable in orthopedic rehabilitation.

About AlterG

FDA cleared and built on NASA technology, AlterG is changing the way people recover and athletes train. Our unique technology allows you to run or walk at a fraction of your body weight, so you can dial in exactly where the pain stops and movement feels good again. Leading medical professionals are using AlterG to help their patients recover better and have a smoother return to activity. Top athletes and teams are using AlterG to recover and train smarter, reducing the frequency of training injuries by minimizing stress on their joints, while still building fitness.

A full copy of the aforementioned article can be purchased here.

– Jacon C. Chun, MPT, SCS, ATC, CSCS

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Women Who Run | Cornstalks and Critters: Marathon Training in Kansas in July

By Kimberly Peek | Published: July 12, 2010

“The sun flickered like a strobe light as it rose behind the cornstalks. I had no one to dance with, so I cranked my tunes and ran faster.” –  My Facebook Update, July 1, 2010

As week two of marathon training comes to a close, I’ve made a point to notice at least one thing I enjoy about each day’s run. Marathon training is hard work, but it should also be fun. This week I entertained myself with things I saw along the trail:

  • As I ran past a pond earlier in the week, I saw a bird I think was a sandhill crane. Not being a bird expert, I’m not sure, but it was definitely a bird we don’t see in the suburbs often.
  • A decayed tree formation that looked like a giant rabbit on the trail last summer, is now much smaller and looks like a large dog.
  • There was a critter I still have not identified, that crept along a fence as I ran by.  It wasn’t a cat or a raccoon, and it had a bushier tale than an opossum. Its eyes were big and grey. And it was smart—and very aware of my presence. It followed me with its eyes as I ran along the trail, and it waited until I’d passed the fence before peeking around. I stopped and pulled out my phone to take a picture, but I didn’t get close enough to figure out what this little guy was.
  • And, then there’s the mystery of how I got turned around on today’s 10 mile run. I started out heading east as the sun came up. I was on a section of trail I’d never run before. Each time I ran under a street, I was positive someone was playing a prank by hanging the wrong street signs on the bridge. When I got to the end of that section of trail, I was surprised to see where I was—and to see the sun at my back. How could I have gotten on the wrong side of the sun? I need to pull the GPS map of that run to see how I ran a complete U turn without even knowing it!

The daily surprises I find on my runs are some of the things that have kept me motivated this week. Last week’s highlight—a reunion with my half marathon training group. We did a short Saturday morning run that ended with breakfast. Since we all are so busy with our young kids, it was nice to have an opportunity to catch up.

My mileage is picking up. I’m still running just four days a week. I added a 20 mile bike ride to this week’s plan, and I’ve added a Friday afternoon CrossFit class, in addition to my regular session with a trainer. So far—I’m running strong and injury free!

What keeps you motivated? What’s the neatest thing you’ve seen on a run lately?  Feel free to comment on your running environment below!

–Kimberly

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Good Research is Hard to Do…

By Dev Mishra MD | Published: July 7, 2010

As Chief Medical Officer at AlterG, a large part of my job is to help us organize and oversee the research efforts of our fantastic independent researchers.  We hear directly from some of our customers that high quality research is important to help give scientific validity to the excellent results they see in working with their own patients.  And we agree completely- properly conducted medical and biomechanical research is central to our mission as a medical device company.

And yet there are also times when I laugh because we are questioned about why we are bothering with clinical research at all.  I recall a conversation I had several months ago with a colleague- he’s a fellow team physician at a prominent West Coast university- and he said to me: “Why do you need research?  We already know what the AlterG does for our athletes.  You should just go out and sell it.”  His point was that his university had two years of solid experience with excellent results for their intercollegiate athletes, and focusing on publicizing those excellent results would be all that many people would need to convince them of AlterG’s benefits.

To some extent my colleague’s remarks are right on the mark but we believe the research gives real credibility to AlterG’s clinical usefulness.  AlterG is about so much more than elite athletes.  Kids with cerebral palsy, elderly patients with Parkinson’s disease, overweight individuals unable to exercise in any other way, and a whole lot of orthopedic conditions all benefit from AlterG.  The focus for AlterG all along has been to build a foundation through research in the technology and safety of our products, then branch in to clinically relevant research.  The Clinical Research Summary found on our website is updated quarterly and will give you details on research that’s been completed, published and presented studies, research currently underway, and also research that’s in the planning stages.

A few highlights of the completed research includes:

  • Two published studies showing that a “metabolic prescription” can be made for anyone- the same level of “workout” can be achieved at any level of unweighting by changing speeds
  • A recently presented study showing equations to calculate VO2 based upon unweighting and speed for both walking and running
  • And several studies used EMG activity to show normal walking and running mechanics at all levels of weight support

There are many studies underway in biomechanics, athletic performance, osteoarthritis, neurologic conditions, cerebral palsy, obesity, and orthopedic conditions, and you can read about these as well in the Research Summary.

I’d like to give you some insight into studies that are getting underway now.  Our focus going forward is on high quality studies in core medical conditions.

At Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California, an exciting study is set to start in which the researchers will be measuring the actual forces inside the knee joint in four total knee replacement patients.

  • With this data, AlterG will have the only evidence in the world showing the actual joint compression forces occurring inside the knee with partial weight bearing, and total knee replacement patients just might have a way to return to jogging for exercise…
  • Other long term studies are starting up in ACL reconstruction, rehabilitation after total knee replacement, hip arthroscopy, running speed, and several others.

As much as we’d like to have the results to give you right now, good quality research is hard to do.  A well conducted clinical study takes anywhere from 6 months to two years to collect the data and several more months to analyze it, and then present it to a peer-reviewed audience.  So for all of you interested in the research- hang in there a bit longer- we’ll have some great stuff for you.

– Dev Mishra, MD

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The Gift of Running | Week 3

By Paty | Published: June 28, 2010

This was a tough week.  I tried to move to 55% body weight, but I wasn’t ready.  In my usual fashion, I want to push it along to lower weights faster, but I have to remember to be patient and allow my body the time it needs to acclimate to the higher weights.

It’s frustrating to not have a road map that will show me exactly what I need to do to get back to 100% function.  If it were a matter of a number of miles to run or sit-ups to do or physical therapy sessions, then I would just show up, do the work and move on.  Unfortunately, I never know if I am doing enough or whether what I’m doing is the right thing.  I go through long plateau periods where I’ll work very hard and see no improvement in my gait or motor functions and then I will have a random and surprising breakthrough with some noticeable improvement.  It can make one crazy to try to predict how to effect consistent improvements and outcomes.  I may never figure it out, but I’ll keep pushing even for minor results, because every little improvement helps to increase quality of life.  I noticed minor improvements in my gait after the last session so I can’t help but think that the higher weight is the way to go.

My progress this week wasn’t very exciting, except that I was able to stay consistently at 50% and felt less winded and more at ease during the runs.  It was more of mental game to run through the discomfort for the first few miles of each session, but at the end of each run, I started to feel the endorphin rush and gained more confidence in each step.  I had a fair amount of foot scuffs or trips and had to hold on to the handles on the front of the AlterG a few times due to fatigue, but the anti-gravity treadmill is such a safe environment to run in that I don’t worry about falling.  The shorts are zipped in to the inflatable bag and keep me safely suspended over the treadmill belt.  It is quite easy to recover from minor and major trips and it makes me feel very safe.  This is a huge advantage, because, I ‘m not distracted by the fear of falling.   By the end of the week, I was coming along and while I wouldn’t say it got easy, I feel comfortable enough to push toward raising my running weight to 55% next week.

Week 3 Progress:

Day One – 4/26/2010

  • Time: 45 mins.
  • Distance:  miles 3.88
  • Weight: 50 %
  • Speed: Miles 1 & 2 = 6.0 mph, Mile 3 & 4 =8.0 mph
  • 5 minute walks to warm-up & warm-down @ 2.5 mph

Day Two – 4/29/2010

  • Time: 47 mins.
  • Distance: 4.15 miles
  • Weight:  40 % – 50%
  • Speed: Mile 1 & 2= 6mph, Mile 3= 7 mph, Mile 4 = 8 mph
  • 5 minute walks to warm-up & warm-down @ 2.5 mph

Day Three – 4/30/2010

  • Time: 45 mins.
  • Distance: 3.2 miles
  • Weight: Miles 1 = 40%, Mile 2 & 3 = 50%
  • Speed: Mile 1 = 6 mph, Mile 2 = 7 mph, Mile 3 = 7.5 & 8.5

Next week’s goal: Move to 55% body weight varying speeds.  Please feel free to chime in with comments on how your AlterG workout is going!

–Paty

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Fall Marathon Training Kicks Off in the Heat. A Few Thoughts on Hydration

By Kimberly Peek | Published: June 24, 2010

This week marked the beginning of Fall Marathon Training, my second attempt at a marathon. This time around, I’m taking a more conservative approach, hoping to make it to marathon day injury-free. As I ran along the trail in the early mornings, grumbling because it was humid and already 70 degrees, I thought about how my approach to hydration has changed since last summer.

First, I’ll throw this out there—I am the most loaded-down runner you will come across on the trail. I take my hydration belt on every run, no matter how short. I like knowing I have water when I need it. (And, that’s not all I carry: I have sunglasses, music, Aquaphor, a phone, tissues, hand sanitizer, BandAids, my Road ID, and a small towel. My friends make fun of me–and it might scream “Rookie!” to many–but these are needs to me.)

With all this gear, one would think I’d be prepared for almost any emergency. In theory, this might be true. But…the biggest lesson I’ve learned so far is that it doesn’t do any good to carry a beverage if you don’t drink it!

Just after completing the Lincoln Half Marathon this spring, I fell to the ground when a calf cramp crept up one leg and hamstring, and then the other. When the cramp reached my abs, and I couldn’t straighten my legs, I panicked. I was alone, rolling on the ground in pain, screaming—and no one would stop to help me.

Finally, two incredible college students stopped; the young man just happened to be interested in physical therapy as a career. One student gave me a giant bottle of water to drink, while the future PT stretched my legs. Twenty minutes later, I could stand again. It was a painful, frightening experience, one that changed the way I approach race day.

As I talked to other runners and researched in the days following the run, I learned that I had been running dehydrated for over a year. I was shocked when I learned how much I should have been drinking.

I am not a medical professional, so I’d encourage you to talk to the appropriate experts and form your own opinion. (There is a lot of information online about hydration–and also about the dangers of taking in too many fluids). Here are a few things I learned:

1)    Most people do not drink enough water on a daily basis, which is why it’s important to not enter race week under-hydrated. Drink lots of water every day—not just the day or two before you run.

2)    You’ll find conflicting information about how much water to consume immediately before a run, but most experts say you should drink a minimum of 16 ounces two hours before the event.

3)    The majority of articles say you should drink at least 6 ounces every 20 minutes.

I still have a trouble consuming this much before and during a race, but the full body cramping episode provided the proper motivation to try harder. I drink more water on a daily basis;  I’ve switched to running with a sports drink (not one of the sugary store brands);  and I use Hammer’s Endurolytes to keep my electrolytes in check.

A few weeks ago, with my new hydration plan in place, I ran a hot, hilly half marathon. I felt the best I’ve ever felt after a long run—I was able to eat solid food afterward, and I didn’t have to spend the afternoon in bed. It wasn’t my fastest finish ever, but feeling strong after running a half marathon was a HUGE victory to me.

Sometimes I feel like running is one big science experiment—experimenting with hydration and fuel and distance and rest days to get my body to perform its best. I wasn’t able to run the spring marathon I’d planned on, but I am determined to make it to race day this fall.  I have my training plan in place—and if all goes well, when I use the AlterG this time around, it will be for speed work, not rehab.

Please continue to follow me on the AlterG blog as I prepare for my first marathon. I’d love to hear about your experiences with race hydration. How much fluid do you consume on a run? And, what are you training for right now?

Feel free to comment below!

–Kimberly Peek

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Makin’ It Happen

By Kate | Published: June 15, 2010

A local elite runner in Wisconsin named Jenny Crain was hit by a car over 2 years ago and is slowly re-learning every day to day activities.  Recently she was able to start using the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill at Salus Inc. in Delafield, WI .  She was a high-profile runner and we have listed a few links that talk about her journey using the AlterG and road to recovery.


To read more about Jenny:
http://www.jennycrain.net/

Also read an article about her in Runners World:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297–13329-1-1X2X3X4X5X6X7X8X9X10X11-12,00.html

Jenny will be contributing to this posting to update her progress, recovery and road to Makin’ It Happen!  Please feel free to comment below if you have a similar story to Jenny’s.

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Do You Get The Same Workout On The AlterG?

By Jacon Chun MPT SCS ATC CSCS | Published: June 10, 2010

This is a question that we are often posed here at AlterG.

People understand the benefits that the AlterG provides as far as unloading the lower extremity to provide relief after injuries or after surgery. They get that the unweighting can help people train with less impact and stress to their bodies, thus decreasing the likelihood of stress fractures and joint related injuries. But what they want to know, is are they going to get the same workout? Can they burn the same number of calories? Will it provide the same cardiovascular conditioning that overground training can?

Well, the answer to those questions are: yes, yes, and,….yes.

In an article by Grabowski and Kram, in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics (2008), they looked at the effects of weight support and velocity on ground reaction forces and metabolic power in running. Their conclusion was that in running with weight support, runners could reduce the ground reaction forces through their lower limbs, and thus the likelihood of associated lower extremity injuries. There is a slight decrease in the metabolic demands of running with weight support versus normal weight running, but by simply increasing running velocity, runners could compensate for the slight decrease and maintain aerobic stimulus in an unweighted environment.

The two variables that can be easily modified to try and elicit the same training effect as an overground session will be speed and duration. Some simple examples of how to manipulate these variables are:

1)    To maintain training intensity and aerobic benefits, increase speed to achieve usual target heart rate. Use this new speed and workout for the same duration as you do in a normal full body weight situation.

2)    If tracking caloric expenditure is more important, you can keep speed the same and increase the duration of your exercise until you have expended a similar amount as in a normal full body weight situation. Bear in mind that if your target heart rate is lower due to unweighting, you may not achieve the same aerobic benefits.

By allowing users to continue to elicit a training effect, in an environment with less impact, we are excited to see people achieve goals and succeed when they otherwise couldn’t. Users succeed because they’ve been able to train faster, train harder, and train healthier on the AlterG. By staying healthier, users are able to avoid the deconditioning effects that may  accompany an injury.

So….people can continue to ask whether or not they will get the same workout on the AlterG. My response next time will be no. With the AlterG,…you’ll get a better one.

Please feel free to comment below on your workouts with the AlterG!

-Jacon Chun, MPT, SCS, ATC, CSCS

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Me On The AlterG

By AGoodman | Published: June 7, 2010

Since becoming a part of Spring Valley Chiropractic in February, I have had the privilege of the AlterG antigravity treadmill at my disposal.  Between then and now I had been training for a half marathon that I completed in April.  My time for the Big D Half Marathon was 2:42:08 averaging about 12:30/mile.  Not bad for my first endurance event.  Lately I have been doing my entire running on the AlterG playing around with factors such as body percentage, speed, and inline.  Here are two examples of workouts that I have done:

  1. With no incline, 1 mile at 7.5 mph and 70% body weight, 1 mile at 8.0 mph and 70% body weight, and 1 mile at 8.5 mph and 75% body weight.
  2. With an incline level of 2, 3 miles at 7.5 mph and 90 % body weight

Workout 1 was what I call a negative split workout, where each mile is faster than the one that preceded it, with the last mile at the highest body weight percentage making it the most challenging.

Workout 2 was at a goal pace of 7.5 mph or an 8-minute mile and it was at 90% body weight.

With this in mind, I participated in a 5 mile race on Saturday, May 1st and my official time was 53:31 with a pace of 10:40/mile.  Even though the mileage was significantly less, my pace was almost a full 2 minutes quicker, and I owe that increase in speed to the AlterG.

If you have any tips on how the AlterG has helped with your training, please feel free to post them below.

-Andrew Goodman, D.C.

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The Gift of Running | Week 2

By Paty | Published: May 27, 2010

Ever since I started walking, post-hemorrhage, the goal has been to relearn how to run on my own.  At the beginning of each year, I sit down and work out a set of realistic goals for recovery in that year.  Every year, at the top of my goal list is the following goal:

“Run one mile on my own”

Why?  Well, besides the fact that I’d like to be able to run if someone or something was chasing me, I have always felt that, if I could run, it probably meant that I was at or close to being back to 100% functionality on my left side.  This past year was no different.  On December 31st, 2009 after 7 months on the AlterG , I went outdoors to the back yard to try to run on my own.  I’d like to say I that I had a breakthrough moment and magically ran on my own.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far.  After several tries, I just had to stop and acknowledge that, while I was close, it just wasn’t going to happen.  Thanks to all the training on the AlterG, I was able to get solid push-off from my left foot and ankle, and my coordination seemed to be better than in years past, but I couldn’t seem to get my quick reflexes to move my leg through to the front fast enough.  Overall, I just wasn’t able to achieve a safe gait at any speed beyond walking.  My pesky drop foot wasn’t helping matters as I had to take my mind off lifting my foot in order to give the rest of my limbs their own movement commands.  It all seemed to be happening too fast for my left side to keep up.  The result was some kind of strange gallop and a fall to my knees after only a few paces.  After several exhausting attempts, I had to admit that I had once again failed in my goal to run on my own.

The only thing left to do was to go back to the drawing board and to modify my training plan for the next year to continue to strengthen my hips, legs, foot and ankle and to continue to run on the AlterG to train my fast reflex action times.

I decided also, that I have been spending too much time running at lower weights on the treadmill.  Though the lower weights are comfortable on the joints, they aren’t getting me closer to my goal, so I plan to methodically lower the weight ratio over time until I am running at 100% of my weight.

The recovery process has taught me a lot about patience, but I still have a lot to learn about the subject.  This will be hard for me but I’m going to try to make this a slow and methodical transition by lowering the weight ratio by small amounts and running more often.  This past week I ran three times and experimented with different weight ratios and speeds with a plan to run consistently at the 50% weight ratio.

For the first two sessions, I started at 40% for the first part of the run and moved to 50% during the second part of the run.  I definitely felt the difference, mainly in my endurance level.  I was able to clear my foot and keep up the pace, even at higher speeds, but I felt, and breathed a lot heavier.  I felt pretty good on day one and was able to push my speed to 9 mph on the final mile.  A feat I would not be able to repeat during the week.

During the second session, I decided to change things up a bit and try some minor interval training by running between 6.5 mph and 7.5.mph at one minute intervals.  While not a lot of difference in speed, I found it challenging to activate my fast reflexes.  I noted that I had a more lasting return in both proprioception and sensation in the day or two after the run.  It seems that the harder impact from the lowered weight is producing results that last beyond my run time which is pretty exciting progress.

I feel pretty confident that I can push my limits net week and head straight from 50% to 55% weight ratio.

Week 2 Progress:

Day One

  • Time:                         46 mins.
  • Distance:             4.15 miles
  • Weight:             Mile 1&2 = 40%, Mile 3 & 4 = 50%
  • Speed:             Mile 1 = 8.5 mph, Mile 2 & 3  = 6.5 mph, Mile 4= 9mph
  • 5 minute walks to warm-up & warm-down @ 2.5 mph

Day Two

  • Time:                         40 mins.
  • Distance:             3.95 miles
  • Weight:             Mile 1 = 40%, Mile 2 & 3 = 50%
  • Speed:             Mile 1 = 8.5 mph, Mile 2 & 3  = 6.5 mph and 7.5 mph @ 1 minute intervals
  • 5 minute walks to warm-up & warm-down @ 2.5 mph

Day Three

  • Time:                         45 mins.
  • Distance:             4.17 miles
  • Weight:             Miles 1 & 2= 40%, Mile 2 & 3 = 50%
  • Speed:             7.5 mph
  • 5 minute walks to warm-up & warm-down @ 2.5 mph

Next Week’s Goal:  Move consistently to 55% body weight at varying speeds.

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