"It is capable of unloading your weight from 20 percent to 100 percent in 1-percent increments. It is valuable for acute patients or post-op patients because patients can be unloaded to their weight-bearing restriction or where exercise becomes pain-free," she says. "It allows them to practice functional activities, such as walking, much sooner than they would be capable of doing normally because of the AlterG's ability to unload the patient's weight. For athletes it is an amazing tool to use to keep their conditioning up while they are rehabilitating [from] an injury. It allows them to restore natural gait, range of motion and strength in a functional position while minimizing joint stress."

Mr. Cube by EMPI is another new piece of equipment that moves in a linear fashion, such as therabands or weight machines and can be utilized with existing gym or rehab facility equipment.

"It is a 7.5-pound small box that hooks up to your equipment and a laptop and then the patient does their exercise to video games on the laptop," Uebelhor Knepp says. "So it's fun for the patient but also more functional and beneficial in regards to neuromuscular re-education and strength. It has various video game interactions that you can customize for each patient."

For example, there is an isometric game for those patients who are recovering from more severe injuries and are just starting with strengthening, and there is a game that uses explosive movements for those patients who are returning to a sport, occupation or other activity that requires fast reactions and dynamic movement.

"It also can provide objective data for patients, doctors and insurance companies in regards to the patient's progress, strength, range of motion, speed and quality of movement," Uebelhor Knepp says. "Most importantly, it is a way to remove patients from the monotonous routine of three sets of 10 repetitions and allows them to have fun playing games while doing their exercises."

Biodex utilizes a similar piece of equipment for balance called the Balance System SD. It is used to improve balance, increase agility, develop muscle tone and decrease risk of falls. Clinicians use it to assess neuromuscular control with dynamic balance activities. There is a platform the patient stands on that moves in response to the training model chosen for the patient. There are six interactive games the patient can choose from with varying levels of difficulty. Doctors and insurance companies can also capture objective data to show a patient's progress over time.

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