Recovering from an injury with less pain and more confidence.
It's being done with a treadmill that defies gravity.
80-year-old Nancy Emiliano is about to begin her physical therapy at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific by getting on the alter g anti-gravity treadmill.
"It keeps me walking underneath is moving constantly it forces me to walk," says Nancy Emiliano, patient.
She has Parkinson's disease and was confined to a wheelchair after having a stroke six months ago. But she's showing no signs of it now. The treadmill has helped with her recovery because it essentially controls the weight on her legs and keeps her strapped in, so there's no fear of falling.
"You can see she's not scared, she's willing to take risks, she's willing to jump, she's willing to skip. Those are things that really affect and work on a patient's balance," says Teresa Wong, Rehabilitation hospital.
Wong says the anti-gravity treadmill is the only one being used in hawaii. it was created by nasa to train astronauts. it's useful for those recovering from surgery. it's also used by professional athletes who want to avoid injury.
"Even if they're pounding really hard they're not causing shin splints or hurting their joints at the same time they're maintaining cardiovascular fitness," says Wong.
I had a chance to try it and it feels like you're walking on air, especially when the machine is adjusted to 20 percent of your body weight, which is equivalent to walking on the moon.
"So you can really take long strides like the astronauts there you go there you go," says Wong.
It works by strapping the lower part of your body in an air tight environment, almost like a bubble. And it uses air pressure to control the weight on your legs. Wong says this allows physical therapists to push patients harder with less pain. In Nancy's case, the progress has impressed her husband.
"Now she washes clothes do the laundry washes dishes and she does the housework and cooks and so forth and she's getting back to her normal self," says Manuel Emiliano, patient's husband.
