MARY'S CHALLENGE
Mary, a 57-year-old lady affected by Thalidomide, has no arms, negligible leg function and is a full-time electric wheelchair user. Mary’s challenge is to increase her functional capacity; reduce her risk of chronic disease; and condition her cardiovascular system, using a custom apparatus to enable her to undertake regular resistance and whole-body exercise. Together with her exercise physiologist Simon, Mary would like a solution to enable greater scope of physical therapy and conditioning.
THE SOLUTION
Mary’s team of skilled Makers have developed a customised workout machine which focuses on both cardiovascular and strength exercises. After transferring onto the machine, Mary can engage in a cardio exercise by rotating her torso to either side, sliding up and down an undulating, CNC cut, wooden ramp that provides her with resistance through her own body weight. For strength training, Mary pushes down on a sliding resistance arm that runs along track created with wheels from a skateboard and different weights.