Focus Physical Therapy & Fitness is a therapist owned practice in South Carolina. The staff takes pride in treating advanced sports injuries, workplace injuries, and the physical rehabilitation practice is dedicated to physical care, pain prevention and overall physical health.
Focus’ owner Rich Biggers brought the AlterG® Anti-Gravity Treadmill™ to his practice three years to “lighten up” his patients, allowing them to run with a normal gait thanks to it’s ability to achieve precise partial weight bearing therapy. He had been using a Total Gym system, but it did not allow for running or the unweighting of patients. The AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill uses differential air pressure to unweight patients in precise 1% increments to as low as 20% of patient body weight without impeding gait swing.
Rich was attracted to the clinical benefits of the AlterG, including balance improvements, improved healing times for lower-extremity surgeries, reduced pain and increased cardiovascular endurance. Focus uses the unique therapy advantages of AlterG with patients who have had a stroke or orthopedic injury. Rich promotes that with the AlterG, “once-painful movements become much more accessible, and treatment progress improves with much less discomfort, much greater ease.”
Rich says he has used the AlterG successfully in a therapy plan for a patient who had a stroke in 1985 and then broke a hip this past year. The patient improved her gait and strength with AlterG. In another patient success story, an elderly woman who had stopped walking due to knee pain is again walking thanks to the AlterG and the care provided at Focus.
“For people contending with painful conditions in their lower body—hips, ankles, knees, feet—the AlterG literally lowers the impact of your weight during treatment, like walking on the moon, which means faster, safer recovery.”
Athletes also come to Focus for the AlterG. An arena football player was able to maintain cardiovascular conditioning and avoid muscle atrophy after knee surgery. He used the AlterG to run with decreased stress on his knee.
In addition to patients who are rehabilitating following an injury or surgery, the AlterG attracts direct access clients to Focus. Runners and others seeking to improve aerobic conditioning come to Focus and self-pay to use the Anti-Gravity Treadmill.
“As it lightens the load your body has to carry, you can concentrate on maintaining a comfortable, natural stride,” adds Rich, who points to a local runner who can only compete at marathon distances when training on the AlterG.”
Rich believes the AlterG will be important in attracting more patients, physician referrals and direct access clients when he soon moves his facility to a new location that is closer to orthopedic physician practices. “Our new facility will have greater visibility and will provide greater exposure for treatment offerings and unique equipment like the AlterG,” he says.
Top Clinical Benefits
- Dynamic balance improvements
- Improved healing times for post-operative lower-extremity surgeries
- Increased cardiovascular endurance
Top Business Benefits
- Unique technology sets practice apart from competition
- Attracts direct access patients and endurance runners
- Provides another treatment option for physical therapy care plans
Interested in learning more about Rich Biggers’ clinic and his experience integrating the AlterG into Focus’ rehab program?
Contact Rich at 803-746-7800 or visit www.FocusPTF.com.