Paraplegic Suffers a Spider Bite, Walks Again

[mushroom_maiden]

Sauce & video

Comments

[wayya]

Huh.

Even if his nerves were "alive", you'll have to explain to me how muscles that weren't used for 20 years allowed him to walk after five days.

[lady_borg]

it would not be much walking and it was proably assisted. It said he was in rehab for eight months. So they might have been the time it took for him to walk on his own.

[wayya]

I don't know, I read it like he was in therapy for 8 month for the spider bite before realizing he could walk.

[ag_sasami]

I don't know much about recluse bites, but I don't imagine you'd be in physical therapy for 8 months over one.

[jesuisgringoire]

yeah, we have them where I live - as I understand it they're quite nasty and rot the flesh out from the bite area for a few inches, but it grows back and there's no way it would take 8 months of PT...probably not any at all unless it somehow hit a very important spot.

[skreidle]

I think most paraplegics undergo some amount of regular therapy to prevent complete atrophy of the muscles--and I'd imagine "walking" is an overstatement of his abilities after five days. :)

[wayya]

The therapy prevent the muscles to retract so the joints can keep all their amplitude, but it can't prevent them from losing their strength since they don't tense by themselves.

[skreidle]

Electrostimulation?

[rocza]

Yeah, I've had to have e-stim therapy to help prevent muscle atrophy. Not a pleasant thing, but effective.

[mushroom_maiden]

I'm really not sure. Other people here can explain it better than me I'm sure!