THE RATOATH 5KM run drew a decent crowd last weekend and like most events of its kind, there were the usual freebies on offer after such as tea, sandwiches, post-race showers and medals if you were quick enough to get one.
There were discounted clothing deals and goodie bags too but one thing that hadn’t been seen before at this – or any other race like it in the country was a curious contraption known as an anti-gravity treadmill.
Engineered by NASA, the unique machine, owned by the Ratoath Sports Injury Centre was available to anyone who was at the race on a trial basis.Kids hopped up on it and were stunned by it’s mechanics, while the elderly were no less bemused about its workings.
Edel Daly, owner of the clinic that is one of just eight clinics in Ireland to have one, explained what it is and why it was there.
“It’s a treadmill developed by NASA designed to simulate walking on the moon,” she told The42.
“It’s benefit lies in the way it’s so effective in taking the pressure off the joints so people recovering from injury can do non weight-bearing exercises, amongst other things.”
The machine, which looks like any normal treadmill, has all the usual alterable functions like speed and incline but what makes the AlterG treadmill so unique (and expensive at €40,000 a pop) is how the user can change the % of body weight they want to use.
“So what that does is, you can change how much weight you want to put on yourself; for example, if you’re jogging in the pool you’re running at 50% of your body weight.
“If you’re out on the road you’re at 100% but with the AlterG you can run at 20% body weight, which is like running on the moon.
“It just feels like you’re walking on air, so for people with reduced mobility, be it people recovering from cruciate injuries or hip or ankle problems, it’s perfect for them as they can still maintain some fitness.”
Cruciate victim and Meath inter-county footballer Eamon Wallace, a member of Ratoath GAA club, has used the AlterG – though not in his own rehab as it wasn’t available to him at the time
“It’s like training inside a bag really,” he said. “Well, the lower half of your body is inside this bag where the air pressure is changed.
“There’s the normal features of any treadmill as well as the button to dictate how much air is inside the bag in which you run.
“It’s great in that it helps you continue training so when you get back playing you haven’t lost too much fitness,” he explained.
If it sounds daft, it was daft enough to have won the Sports Technology Award for 2015 while among those who are avid users of it are Olympic champions Mo Farah and Paula Radcliffe as well as NBA star Kobe Bryant and a host of top athletes in the Nike Oregon Project in the States.
“Athletes have really copped on to it,” continued Daly.
“Marathon runners have found it really beneficial – so it’s benefits are not just in recovery.
“Long-distance runners would do anything up to 100 miles on the track in a week but they might also do 20 miles on the treadmill; it just means you can do more training without the debilitating effects of that training. You can do more and feel fresher, essentially.”
Stroke patients have found it beneficial in learning to walk properly again while people with neurological disorders, obesity and those post-op can also reap huge benefits.
“It allows people a safer way to build up and get back to full functional mobility,” said Daly.
“We can see their feet hitting the belt – though they mightn’t feel they are and for someone like a cruciate ligament victim, this machine could be the difference between getting back playing a month earlier than if they were ‘just’ getting the best physio in the country.