Mum walks...after 17 years in wheelchair….The Daily Mirror.   Just two minutes treatment and I can walk after 17 years….The Daily Mail.      Woman in wheelchair walks again…. BBC News.   Walking back to happiness…Real People.   Two minute toning table session fixes Anne's injured back….The Daily Mirror

With such headlines it is not surprising that the story of novelist Anne Bennett's remarkable recovery has created a huge buzz surrounding the use of toning tables. But as newspapers have a tendency to exaggerate we wanted to put the record straight with the grateful help of Anne herself. It is true that Anne a former teacher can now walk again but it's also important that any potential user of toning table understands that the equipment alone cannot take all the credit.

We contacted Anne in an attempt to understand exactly what her experiences were. After an accident at work in the spring of 1990, Anne was eventually told by her specialist in October 1991 that she was facing life in a wheelchair. Despite her disability Anne continued a daily exercise routine at home until a conversation four years ago led to her beginning a course on toning tables in her local town. When this particular salon closed down 18 months ago Anne visited a salon in a neighboring town were she not only continued to use the toning tables but also discovered the new Body Action.

When asked what was the main reason for using the toning tables, Anne said "I used the toning beds in an effort to stop the muscle tone withering and also to try and prevent bone density from decreasing any more than it had to", Anne then went on to explain what her doctor had to say about this remarkable recovery. She says, he thinks the years of exercise, swimming, toning tables and my own programme gradually broke down the fibrosis and also maintained enough muscle tone to support my body when I began to stand and then walk, especially as I had also lost so much weight (I am just under nine stone now). So everything helped and when I used the Body Action for the first time, the movement I felt the doctor thinks was the fibrosis finally breaking through. I enjoy exercise and love using the toning tables, which I think still are and have been very good for me and the Body Action is like the icing on the cake. I think many more could benefit from using them, though anyone with any sort of medical condition would be wise to consult their doctor first. Most will be supportive because it is a safe way for keeping fit and supple and anyway doctors these days are more open to the idea of alternative treatment.

The Body Action mentioned is a relatively new form of therapy in the UK although the concept behind the product which is vibration therapy has a history dating back many years. This equipment is mentioned many times in the newspaper article but the journalists just seem to consider it to be another toning table, when in fact it is completely different The Body Action is in essence a platform that rocks across an axis causing involuntary muscle contraction without the need for conscious effort by the user". 

Anne still uses the equipment twice a week spending an hour a time on the toning tables followed by ten minutes on the Body Action and says "I am a great believer in Toning Tables and obviously think the Body Action is wonderful"