Redcord therapy helps patients with neuromuscular injuries build strength, stability

MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) - A new type of physical therapy looks like it is designed for olympic-level gymnasts, but it is actually used to give strength and stability back to patients who have suffered neuromuscular injuries.

Joe Jackson loves riding his motorycle, but in September of 2008, he feared his motorcycle days were over. He was on his bike going 40 miles per hour, when the car going the other way blew  through a red light. There was no time to stop. He t-boned the car, flipped over the top, and landed on the other side. 

"I sustained a fractured or broken elbow on the inside part of my elbow, where my tendons and muscle connect to the anchoring part of my elbow," Jackson said.

Jackson decided to try out a new type of physical therapy, called redcord. It's a series of ropes, bungees and slings that allow a patient to reactivate muscles that have disengaged.

Jackson started with push-ups using the bench. He noticed a difference in range and strength in the very first week of therapy. Eventually, he progressed to more difficult exercises that allowed him to put all of his weight in the redcords.

Thanks to the red cord, Jackson's elbow is as good as new.

"It's outstanding. It's back to normal and I can do everything that I used to be able to," Jackson said. 

Redcord therapy was developed in Norway, but is quickly gaining popularity in the U.S.

Beaumont Medical Center in Macomb Township is one of the first centers in Metro Detroit to take advantage of the redcord system.