Theracycle Can Benefit MS & sci Patients

[Max]

Theracycle Can Benefit MS Patients
Fri Oct 25, 5:38 PM ET

For people with chronic health problems, day-to-day movement can be difficult -- let alone exercise.


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NewsCenter 5's Rhonda Mann said that a Franklin, Mass., company is pedaling a new way to bring patients to their physical potential. "You can't go from once running marathons to completely being still," Nina Lyvers said.


Lyvers used to run marathons, then multiple sclerosis began to run through her body. She found it hard to exercise at all


"For years I ran on a treadmill, and then I started tripping and I finally said, 'Maybe this isn't a good idea,'" Lyvers said.


Then she learned about Theracycle -- a new stationary bike for those with chronic health problems. Unlike other bikes, it is motorized to be gentler on the joints and make movement easier.


"It seems almost counter-intuitive that you need a motor to help you exercise, but people who don't have strength endurance just cannot use regular exercise equipment, they need some assistance," Lyvers said.


Peter Blumenthal broke his neck after being hit by a car a few years ago. He now owns the company that developed the Theracycle. and has sold them to people with spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease (news - web sites) even cardiac patients. Word is starting to get out to neurologists and other health professionals.


"Patients will tell me I have more endurance," Brown University Dr. Thomas Morgan said. "I walk better, so when you hear that, it's hard not to be impressed."


The bikes cost $3,000.


Lyvers said that using it for 25 minutes most days of the week helps her feel better physically and emotionally. "I have a 13-year-old son. Showing him that you don't give up, there are ways to do things without giving up, I think that's very important," she said.


Morgan is starting a pilot study on the Theracycle, putting the idea that this bike can steer patients to a stronger, healthier life, Mann said.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...o_WCVB/1367923

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