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Walking on the moon

 

 

  by Sheryl Jedlinski  

The more miles I rack up on this treadmill, the better, straighter, and stronger I walk. Concentrating on taking bigger strides at a faster pace for a longer time is helping me restore my natural gait and range of motion, and improve my balance and aerobic conditioning. Suddenly, I am aware of a rhythmic sway I had forgotten was part of my natural gait. I feel like a gazelle prancing through the woods. I imagine Neil Armstrong shared my awe when he first set foot on the surface of the moon.

To find medical facilities near your home that use the Alger G with PWP, go to http://www.alter-g.com/product/find-an-alterg and type in your zip code.

 

Are you having difficulty walking? Do you find yourself shuffling or limping instead of taking long, steady strides? Do you notice that you are "hunched over" when you walk? Is loss of mobility keeping you from doing the things you want to do?

If you answer yes to these questions, ask your doctor if the anti-gravity treadmills, now making their way into physical therapy facilities, could help restore your natural gait and quality of life. Developed by NASA, these machines use "unweighting technology" to reduce impact on your lower body when you walk. This allows you to experience the benefits of exercise with little or no pain.

Before getting on the treadmill, I "suit up" like an athlete on game day. Despite what you may read elsewhere, this is not a one person job… especially not if that one person has Parkinson's. I struggle to pull on tight but comfortable fitted neoprene shorts with a zippered skirt that looks to me like clown pants with a barrel waist opening. Then I step up onto the treadmill, and with the help of a therapist, zip my shorts at my waist to the plastic bubble that surrounds the machine.

 

I punch in the percentage of my body weight I want to displace (If only this were so easy in the world outside of PT). Standing with arms folded in front of me, I feel air rushing around my legs, gently lifting me up as the treadmill starts calibrating. When I reach 65% of my body weight (you can go all the way down to 20%), I momentarily hover above the treadmill belt, as if being levitated, and then float back down . Using up and down arrows, I can raise or lower my body weight in one percent increments until I get to the point at which walking is pain free and I feel like I am floating in air.

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(c) 2011 PDPlan LLC - All Rights Reserved

Do not start any exercise program without first consulting with your doctor. All information and/or links provided are for the convenience of our readers. We make no endorsement, express or implied, about the services on any of these websites.

Without express written consent, this material may only be used for your own personal and noncommercial uses which do not harm the reputation of PDPlan LLC, provided that you do not remove any copyright. To request permission to reproduce, please contact PDPlan LLC at pdplan4life(at)konoso.org


email us directly at: Sheryl@pdplan4life.com

(c) 2015 PDPlan LLC All Rights Reserved

Without express written consent, this material may only be used for your own personal and noncommercial uses which do not harm the reputation of PDPlan LLC, provided that you do not remove any copyright. To request permission to reproduce, please contact PDPlan LLC at Sheryl@pdplan4life.com

blogger partner WPC 2016 in Portland