F1 hero Schumacher given muscle training to stop his body seizing up as enters his fifth week in hospital coma

F1 legend given muscle training to avoid muscles withering and seizing up

Schumacher, 45, is about to enter fith week in a medically induced coma



Neurologist: ' Every day the chances decline that situation is improving'

Austrian media speculate that seven-time champion has Apallic Syndrome

Family says they are 'deeply moved' by support from fans around the world



Michael Schumacher is being given muscle training in order to stop his muscles from withering away as he enters his fifth week in a medically induced coma.



The Formula One legend is receiving muscle therapy so that his body will not seize up as he stays sedated in intensive care in Grenoble following his ski accident four weeks ago.

Fears are growing that Michael Schumacher could remain in a 'persistent vegetative state' for the rest of his life even if he wakes up from his coma.



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Schumacher is in a stable condition after suffering severe head injuries in a skiing accident Michael Schumacher is being slowly brought out of his induced coma, his manager has said. His wife Corinna insists her husband is a 'fighter' who will not give up

He was placed into an artificially induced coma shortly after the crash to help his brain heal, but such measures normally last only a maximum of two weeks.

'Patients in comas need limbs and joints moved daily to ensure muscles do not atrophy,' emergency medicine expert Professor Heinzpeter Moecke told The Sun.

One Austrian website reported Schumacher, 45, may suffer from Apallic Syndrome or persistent vegetative state.

Jean-Marc Orgogozo, Professor of Neurology at the University of Bordeaux, said: 'Every day, every week in a coma the chances decline that the situation is improving'.



But his family insisted he was a 'fighter' as they poured out their heartfelt thanks to fans around the world on his webpage on Tuesday.



'Deeply moved': Schumacher's Rolf Schumacher and brother Ralf arrive at Grenoble Hospital earlier this month. His family have issued a heartfelt thank you to fans around the world for their support

Strain: Corinna Schumacher and their children have been maintaining a constant bedside vigil since his crash

'We all know: he is a fighter and will not give up!' said his family, adding: 'We are deeply moved that there is no let up in the good wishes for Michael from around the world.

'That gives us strength. Thank you all of you!' But the support of his wife Corinne, 44, his two teenaged children, brother and closest friends cannot mask the fact that more than four weeks in an artificial coma means that he is far from anywhere near recovery. A persistent vegetative state is one in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. This means that if doctors do bring him out of his artificially induced coma he would be unable to speak, move or feed himself. Probe: Investigators at the site of Schumacher's crash earlier this month where he smashed his head on a rock while skiing off-piste in Meribel, France The format.at news website said; 'More than three weeks after the tragic skiing accident of the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, hope dwindle for a full recovery. 'For more than three weeks now Schumacher lies in a medically induced coma at the University Hospital in Grenoble.

He is fed there with probes, washed daily and moved again and again to avoid a bed sores.' It goes on to speculate that the 'severe damage' he suffered to his brain in a ski accident on December 29 could result in the permanent vegative state suffered by around 10,000 of his German countrymen. This would mean, if and when he is brought out of the coma by his medical team, 'that his condition would hardly be different from the medically induced coma'.

Apallic Syndrome is always the result of a severe brain injury. The chance of recovery from Apallic Syndrome are far below 50 per cent.' Schumacher's condition remains stable but there is a firewall of silence from his medical team about the intense battle being waged to try to bring him back to normality.