Gym opens for people with spinal cord injuries

06:44 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 27, 2005

By CLARA TUMA / KVUE News

A new gym for people with spinal cord injuries has opened in Austin, through the Brain and Spine Center at Brackenridge Hospital.

KVUE News

Some of the machines will even exercise parts of the body people can't move on their own.

Many people pump iron, pound the pavement and get physical to stay fit, but for Peter MacIntyre, fitness is an extra burden.

"...Kept thinking it was a nightmare and that I'd wake up out of bed and get up and do my usual chores," he said. "I was paralyzed from the waist down, and my hands were paralyzed. They were shut."

A recent fall claimed his mobility, but MacIntyre is fighting to get it back. He and others with spinal cord injuries now have a new place to get fit at the Brain and Spine Center at Brackenridge.

"Now I can feed myself; I can cut meat, which I couldn't do before," MacIntyre said.

The equipment is custom made for those in wheelchairs, and provides everything from cardio to upper body workouts.

"It's fantastic. It's going to be able to offer the clients in town, the wheelchair bound individuals, a place to go and be able to work out, without fear of people looking at them," said Brian Bowles, HealthSouth. "Hopefully what we're looking for is to build muscle mass, increase circulation bone density and eventually, if technology procures a spinal cord cure, then it will be able to help more people get up and walk again."

The gym also has hard mats off the floor, so clients can stretch out and exercise -- something you really can't do in a bed.

"It leads to a better prognostic outcome; the people have more chance of recovering more function -- that's really the bottom line, said Craig Kemper, M.D., Brain & Spine Center Medical Director.

For Peter MacIntyre, the road ahead is still rocky, but thanks to the gym, a little brighter.

"If I cry all the time, forget it. You're going nowhere. I got to look to the future. I'm 76."