SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS

The integrative manual therapy is the added component bringing new hope to "no hope" patients, Sue Leger told UPI Thursday.

Leger, who combined IMT with the other components after completing a doctorate in spinal cord injuries at Westbrook University, said dozens of spinal cord patients who doctors had put in the "no hope" category a year after being paralyzed regained significant control of bodily functions with this combination program and, in many cases, began walking and driving cars without special hand controls.

"It's the unique combination of the hands-on structural work with traditional rehabilitation that does the trick", said Leger, who directs CenterIMT Atlanta in Fayetteville, Ga.

The treatment has been effective in helping patients -- some almost as severely injured as the late actor Christopher Reeve -- show significant recovery from their injuries, she told UPI.

Reeve was paralyzed after falling off a horse in an equestrian event in 1995. He was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life and died of cardiac arrest at age 52 in 2004.

 BREAKING STORIES

Ga. official to donate 'Smarter' winnings

Georgia bank becomes 10th to fail

Alcohol can cause too much cell death

Barr decries two-party system

Rapper 'Da Brat' draws 3-year sentence

Breastfeeding may help mothers lose weight

Spices protect against aging, diabetes

Ga. legislator wins Dem nod for Senate

'Makeover' house may escape foreclosure

Rice compound cuts diabetic nerve damage

Ethanol yield from grass, yard waste hiked

'Extreme Makeover' House in Ga. Faces Foreclosure

Kid Rock pleads no contest in Ga. brawl

Georgia IMAX machine fails during 'Knight'

Walking boosts elderly independence

McKinney named Green Party candidate

Florida Dems outdo GOP in new voters

Therapy combo heals spinal injuries

Obama pledges to end war in Iraq

Protein may explain bone loss, obesity