St. John’s to introduce a new bike to help paralyzed patients
Feb. 23, 2006

The Spinal Cord Injury Support Group at St. John’s Hospital will introduce a new functional electronic stimulation bike (FES) at 6:30 p.m. Monday Feb. 27,2006 at in the rehab gym inside St. John’s Hospital.  The Spinal Cord Injury Support group meets every fourth Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in room 210 at the Cancer Center-1235 E. Cherokee.

Functional electronic stimulation technology allows paralyzed people to exercise by attaching computer-programmed electrodes from the equipment to their bodies to stimulate their muscles to contract in a coordinated manner, thus the pedaling motion on the bike.  Patients who use the bike regularly gain muscle mass in the stimulated areas. It also increases circulation and promotes healthy tissue.

 St. John’s Neuroscience Services is the only rehab center in the Springfield area to be equipped with the bike.  St. John’s Neuroscience was able to purchase the bike thanks to an $18,283 grant from St. John’s Foundation for Community Health Neuroscience Fund and the United Way of the Ozarks.

Approximately 450,000 people live with spinal cord injuries (SCI) in the United States.  There are about 10,000 new SCIs every year; the majority of them involve males between the ages of 16-30.

The Spinal Cord Injury Support Group is just one of the neuroscience support groups offered by St. John’s.  Others include:  The Parkinson’s Support Group, which meets the second Thursday of the month at 2 p.m.; the Epilepsy Support Group, which meets the third Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. and the Stroke Support Group, which meets the fourth Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m.

For media information, contact St. John’s Media Relations at 417-820-2426 or cscott@sprg.mercy.net.