From altered gravity treadmills to cryogenic therapy, Alex Pearce is trying everything to get ready for round one of the 2017 season.

Pearce played just eight games for Fremantle in 2016 after fracturing the tibia in his right leg against Richmond in round nine.

Fresh off an end of season trip to LA with Nat Fyfe, Pearce is back at Freo and continuing to make progress with his rehab.

A part of the process has been getting back into running on a specialised treadmill that can reduce, and then slowly increase, body weight impact to allow a more gradual recovery.

“I had surgery three weeks ago the get my plate removed from my leg, “ Pearce said.

“I’ve been running on our AlterG treadmill downstairs for the last couple of weeks, so I’m hoping that I’ll be training with the group in the next few weeks.

“It’s a very big thing to come back from, so it’s all very slow and one step at a time.”

With Fyfe also recovering from a broken leg from the good 2016 season, the pair used their US trip as a way to see how elite athletes train and recover from injury.

This involved some interesting techniques, including Cryotherapy, which exposes the body to temperatures as low as -150 degrees Celsius for short periods of time.

“There were a few tricks over there that we tested out,” Pearce said.

“It was interesting but I don’t know if (Cryotherapy’s) got too much on the old fashioned ice-baths, so I think we’ll stick with that over here.

“There’s a few boys that have used one over in the eastern states before. It’s obviously pretty cold but you’re only in there for a couple of minutes.”

Instead, Pearce is working hard on the more traditional methods.

“There’s a lot of gym to focus on and getting strength in my legs.,” Pearce said.

“The big focus at the moment is getting back out there training, and getting my body in the right shape so I can deal with 22 weeks of AFL football.

“(My leg’s) been really good over the last week or two. I’ve been able to resume some running so that’s been really positive and with my weights and similar things like that I’m finding my strength is coming back so I’ve had a really good few weeks.”

While Pearce did not take part in the running component of today's training session, he is hoping to be available for selection come the start of the pre-season competition.

“I’ll be ready to go for round one all things going well,” Pearce said.

“I don’t know specifically when I’ll be back, but (the pre-season competition) is back the cards. 

“All I’m thinking about is getting back out there. It was pretty tough to watch all of these weeks off the field.”