Grace Lutheran Foundation Unveils High Tech Anti-Gravity Treadmill

Posted 8/5/2015

Imagine running or walking faster than you ever thought your body could go. Imagine recovering from an injury or knee replacement faster than you could on your own. Imagine having access to equipment that elite athletes use to train for the world’s biggest events. It has now arrived in Eau Claire.

Grace Lutheran Foundation has unveiled a new, high-tech AlterG® Anti-Gravity Treadmill® now in use at Syverson Lutheran Rehab and Health in Eau Claire.

CEO Mike Christensen says, “This is an amazing, space-age piece of equipment that will help not only our friends and neighbors in the Grace system, but also people all over the Chippewa Valley.”

The AlterG® Anti-Gravity Treadmill® has been installed to help our patients recover from their injuries as fast as physically possible. The AlterG® Anti-Gravity Treadmill® uses advanced unweighting technology to provide unsurpassed support, safety and stability. This senior rehabilitation treadmill is ideal for geriatric patients recovering from neurologic and orthopedic-related injuries. The Anti-Gravity Treadmill also provides long-term care patients a way to safely improve their functional mobility and overall health.

“The AlterG system allows us to precisely unweight a patient’s body much more scientifically than an old fashion therapy pool. That means you can adjust the treadmill by one percent increments as the patient progresses. It’s also much safer because we don’t have to take the precautions against surgical wound infections as you do when dealing with water in a pool”, Christensen said.

The AlterG is also a phenomenal piece of equipment designed to help injured athletes, pediatric patients and has even been used by the medical staff on NBC’s hit show ‘The Biggest Loser’ to help patients with weight loss.

It’s a high-tech tool that Grace Lutheran Communities will use as a centerpiece in its new 18.5-million dollar healthcare campus in Altoona along the Highway 53 bypass. That community is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2016.

Grace Lutheran Communities has been helping our friends and neighbors in communities all over the Chippewa Valley since 1960. The non-profit organization specializes in rehabilitation, assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care, child care, independent living, and adult day services.