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Horrifying moment man’s neck is crushed by squat machine at the gym
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In something that looked like a Final Destination scene, a gym goer was crushed by equipment and might not be able to walk again.
After a trip to the 220 Fit gym in Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará, Regilânio da Silva, 42, was in a freak accident involving a squat machine that was holding 150kg plates.
As it was captured on the gym’s CCTV cameras, many have witnessed the awful moment that Da Silva was caught unawares and crushed by the weight on 4 August.
Now, the father of three has been told that has only one percent chance of ever walking again after the accident happened at 220 FIT gym in Brazil.
In the footage, Da Silva can be seen sitting on a bench, as he was taking a break in between his own workout sets, but tragedy was to strike out of the blue as he was then hit with 150kg worth of plates from above as a squat machine collapsed over his neck.
Thankfully, during the ordeal, three men quickly sprang into action and were able to get the weight off, whilst flagging down others to call emergency services.
After the ambulance arrived, Da Silva was then rushed to Santo Antônio Hospital where he needed to go through four hours of treatment just to stabilise his neck.
But it wasn’t enough to reverse an immense amount of damage to his body and although he can use his arms, there is very little chance that he will ever walk again.
Dr José Correia, a neurosurgeon told Brazilian news outlet G1 that there are factors to consider when in this type of gym accident situation.
He said: "It depends a lot on the degree of injury at first, the level of return of previous functions.
"There are neither motor nor sensitive components, unfortunately. It is the most serious injury there is from the point of view of neurological damage.
"The chance is, statistically, less than 1% of the return of motor and sensitive functions."
This is because 'the thoracolumbar junction, which is the transition from the rib cage to the lumbar region, has lost bone continuity; it doesn't touch one bone to another'.
Although the gym equipment fell on Da Silva, the gym has claimed that the machine was in perfect condition, having been purchased only two months before the accident.
A manager at the gym, Cícero Aparecido, explained that the machine features a centre lock and plates on the side so that visitors can do 'conventional squats on the machine rather than freestyle squats', but the mystery of how the machine collapsed has yet to be solved.
In an Instagram statement, the gym stated that: "A veteran student who was practicing his exercise on a loaded machine also sat down to rest on the platform which would be for foot support."
They continued that this meant that the machine accidentally fell on Da Silva, causing his neck injury.
The company stressed that they were recently inspected and were in 'full compliance'.
Though it's unsure exactly how it happened, Da Silva's family claim they and the gym equally paid for the cost of his surgery, which amounted to around £5,400 in the end.
To further raise funds for his extensive recovery, they have also set up a crowdfunding account on Vakinha, asking people to 'pray that Regi recovers quickly and that his progress is blessed by divine grace to regain leg movement'.
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