Jennifer Matthews: This is how astronauts do it - floating in zero gravity. And this is how surgical patients do it, in a NASA pressure chamber.
Charlie Walker: There's no way I could have done that much exercise at this stage without it.
Jennifer Matthews: Charlie walker is recovering from his second knee replacement surgery, three months quicker than the first one. The difference may be this pressure chamber.
Charlie Walker: You think you're an astronaut. That's what it was built for.
Jennifer Matthews: NASA developed the pressure chamber to give astronauts artificial gravity in space. On earth, the chamber takes away gravity. In here, Charlie weighs about 50-pounds, enough to get exercise but without over-exerting himself. The chamber also helps patients in other ways. A little gravity, called positive pressure, helps reduce swelling.
Alan Hargens: The positive pressure tends to move fluid out of tissues and back into the blood where it should be.
Jennifer Matthews: Though Charlie can work out on his own, other patients need the pressure chamber to stay active.
Alan Hargens: If they don't exercise fairly soon after their surgery, they may not be able to tolerate upright activity anymore. I want you to bend your knee back.
Jennifer Matthews: Charlie is recovering so well, his doctor cleared him to drive; a good thing since Charlie started driving three weeks ago.
Charlie Walker: It'll be a miracle for people that are going through what I'm going through.
Jennifer Matthews: This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services