Peter has a paraplegia, but managed to cycle no less than seventeen kilometers on Sunday during the Wings for Life running match in Breda. He did that with a very special bike: the Berkelbike. Peter is paralyzed, but the electrodes of the bike control his muscles. That way he can still move his legs. “This gives me a huge sense of freedom, so I can really stay fit,” he told the finish line on Sunday.
Due to a complete paraplegia, Peter has no feeling in his body from his breastbone. Walking is impossible and you would think cycling too. But thanks to the Berkelbike, Peter can move his legs and still participate.
Threads and electrodes
All kinds of threads hang on his body and electrodes are stuck on his legs. “You put yourself a bit under power. As a result, movement gets started. If you manage the different muscle groups at the right time, you get a bicycle movement. If you adjust that well enough, cycling goes better and you can get better and better,” he proudly explains. However, walking is still a bridge too far, that does not work with the electrodes. “Cycling is easier, walking is really complicated.”
On Sunday he cycled no less than seventeen kilometers during Wings for Life World Run. A record, because, according to Peter, no one has cycled further on the Berkelbike than two kilometers. Peter had no less than 17.8 in the legs on Sunday. The technology of the bicycle is increasingly developing with the help of students from the VU University in Amsterdam, Peter explains.
“Somehow this technique works very well. I am also very happy that I was allowed to participate in the competition from Wings for Life with this bike. Normally you can only participate with a normal wheelchair but I knew I could improve this record.”
Bedsores
Cycling prevents him from suffering from beds. With a paraplegia, blood flow is no longer good in the lower body and muscle mass also disappears. Then you can get bedsores.
“If those are wounds, it is dangerous. You don’t feel that with a paraplegia. By cycling you prevent that, because your blood flow improves and you grow muscle mass. In this way I stay strong.”
The inventor of the Berkelbike, Rik Berkelmans, is delighted about the record of Peter. “Peter trains a lot and is very well guided by a special team. And thanks to his efforts, we can also help people who can barely move now. Peter is now the only one who can do this, but there are more.”
According to Berkelmans, it is very important for people with a paraplegia to keep moving. “Your condition is much less, you also have more chance of, for example, thrombosis. People with a paraplegia live ten to twelve years shorter. But thanks to this invention they can continue to move.”
