'Anti-gravity' treadmill designed for astronauts now helps injured athletes

By Pete Carey

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

SAN JOSE, CALIF. -- A treadmill developed at the NASA Ames Research Center for exercising in space has seen more athletes than astronauts lately.

AlterG, a California company, has sold more than 200 of the "anti-gravity" physical therapy and training treadmills, which are based on the NASA prototype, at $75,000 each. The buyers have mainly been sports teams, college athletic departments and hospitals. A new model, the M300, costs $24,500 and is starting to be acquired by physical therapy clinics and nursing homes, where they are used for exercise without the risk of falling.

The AlterG, the only machine of its kind on the market, is an exercise treadmill with a waist-high enclosure added on. Zip yourself in and, by inflating the enclosure, you can reduce the force of gravity on your legs from a few percent to 80 percent, which approximates what it would be like to walk or run on the moon.