Man hurt by pool dive may move again
Published on 08/6/2005
Page 1
By Jon Brodkin/ Metrowest Daily News
The Framingham man who broke his neck by diving off a trampoline into a shallow kiddie pool may be able to recover at least some movement in his body, but faces a difficult road ahead, experts say.
Cleber Dos Santos, 29, broke his fifth cervical vertebra - an injury which means his spine should be functional above the fifth vertebra, giving him some upper body movement, according to a local physical therapist.
"Somebody like that, you would expect to be able to use amuscle-to-shoulder shrug or they might be able to move their arm out to the side,'' said Rachael Finke, a therapist at Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Framingham.
Whether the man regains movement in his torso and legs depends on whether he suffered a complete or incomplete spinal cord injury, Finke said.
"If you think of the spinal cord as a garden hose, a complete injury would sever the hose completely, preventing the transmission of water,'' she said.
Those who suffer spinal cord injuries often need physical, occupational and speech therapy.
The Framingham man who broke his neck by diving off a trampoline into a shallow kiddie pool may be able to recover at least some movement in his body, but faces a difficult road ahead, experts say.
Cleber Dos Santos, 29, broke his fifth cervical vertebra - an injury which means his spine should be functional above the fifth vertebra, giving him some upper body movement, according to a local physical therapist.
"Somebody like that, you would expect to be able to use amuscle-to-shoulder shrug or they might be able to move their arm out to the side,'' said Rachael Finke, a therapist at Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Framingham.
Whether the man regains movement in his torso and legs depends on whether he suffered a complete or incomplete spinal cord injury, Finke said.
"If you think of the spinal cord as a garden hose, a complete injury would sever the hose completely, preventing the transmission of water,'' she said.
Those who suffer spinal cord injuries often need physical, occupational and speech therapy.
http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/120/1/Man-hurt-by-pool-dive-may-move-again/Page-1.html