It’s fair to say that squash coach Malcolm Pickup has given his joints a bit of a hammering over the years.

So it’s perhaps not surprising that the 61-year-old sportsman, who was also a long-distance runner, has needed knee replacement surgery.

But after a lifetime of being super-fit and active the last thing he wanted was a lengthy post-operative convalescence.

A former Yorkshire Premier League squash player, Malcolm wanted to get back to coaching in clubs at Lockwood Park, Royds Hall and Skelmanthorpe.

And the solution to the problem of how to speed up his recovery was found close at hand.

Malcolm, who is the health, safety and security manager at the John Smith Stadium, heard from a colleague about a remarkable new high-tech treatment that harnesses ‘anti-gravity’ originally technology developed by NASA.

“My right knee joint was worn down through excessive wear and tear,” said Malcolm, who lives in Rastrick.

“The cartilage had completely disappeared and my leg was very swollen.”

An operation to fit him with a replacement titanium and plastic joint was performed in October 2012 and he was told he would need six months of rehabilitation and physiotherapy.

However, after home visits by NHS physiotherapists got him up and about he began visiting the Therasport physiotherapy clinic in the stadium run by Garry Slade, who treated him with the help of an AlterG machine, which simulates a low-gravity environment.

Garry, who has worked with major rugby league teams, including the Huddersfield Giants, Wakefield Wildcats, Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls, was won over by the machine after he used one to treat rugby players.

The equipment looks like a treadmill with a skirt. Patients stand on the machine and have the skirt fixed around them with a belt.

Garry explains: “We inflate the belt which takes their weight, allowing them to exercise and not worry about causing damage to recovering joints and muscles.

“It allows patients to be mobile and exercise without high impact and means they can be mobile far sooner, which has overall benefits for them mentally as well as physically.”

The weight felt by the user can be increased or decreased.

Malcolm says “moonwalking” is a good description of how it feels to use the machine.

AlterGS treatment is popular in America and Australia but is not widely available in the UK, although athletes such as Paula Radcliffe and the Brownlee brothers have used it.

Garry’s machine is the only one permanently installed in the Yorkshire area.

While Malcolm still has a limp he says the machine allows him to walk normally while using it.

He said: “I feel very confident on it and I can exercise without putting any pressure on the new knee joint – it’s quite liberating.

“I feel my recovery is ahead of what people told me to expect. I was back coaching a month after the operation.”

He uses the machine once or twice a week for 20 minutes at a time.

However, Garry, who is physio for the British Tumbling and Trampolining Team, says the machine is not just being used by those with sports injuries or post-operative conditions.

“I have five people training for the marathon using it,” he said.

“Amateur athletes with joint pain who don’t want to ease off their training can use it to maintain fitness and can run faster and further without pain, while international athletes can use it to increase the intensity of their training without excessive loading of their joints.”

Marathon runner Sue Redhead is using the AlterG machine in Huddersfield in order to train for the London Marathon on April 21.

She knew about the machine after seeking help from Garry for tendonitis.

“I had a seven week lay-off from running but needed to get back because I had a place to compete in London,” said Sue, who is a clerical worker at Leeds University.

“Garry suggested I use the machine so that I could continue running but with less strain on my bones and joints.

“Now I’m using it one session a week for speed training. Since January I’ve been training four times a week – one run on the AlterG, one long run and two six-mile runs. Using the machine means I can run really fast and keep the pace up because my body weight is reduced and I’m not stressing my joints.”

The machine is calibrated to 85% of Sue’s body weight when she trains. When recuperating from the tendonitis it was set at 60%.

“It felt a bit strange at first but now I think it’s a fabulous thing for runners,” she said.

Sue, 48, who lives in Morley, will be running the marathon to raise money for cancer research and to support the world challenge expedition her daughter Beth, a Greenhead College student, is undertaking next summer in Mozambique.

Although Sue originally began running to tackle a weight problem, she is now fiercely competitive. Her best time for a marathon – this will be her third – is four hours 15 minutes.

But with the help of the AlterG she’s hoping to beat that.