A 23-year-old woman was left paralysed from the neck down after falling from an exercise equipment while doing sit ups at the gym.

Marcelle Mancuso, a law graduate from Sao Jose do Rio Preto in Brazil, was performing an inverted sit up during her routine work out when the accident occurred.

Instead of the usual sit ups where one’s entire body will be flat on the ground, during the inverted sit up, the legs are elevated so that the body is angled at about 45 degrees with the head being closest to the ground.

The legs are then strapped in to provide support and also to avoid accidents but unfortunately in Marcelle’s case things didn't work out as planned.

“I was attached to the equipment with a strip, which broke and the personal trainer could not hold me,” she was quoted by Independent UK.

The law graduate hit the back of her head on the floor and instantly lost movement in her entire body.

She was diagnosed with tetraplegia which is the lack of movement in the legs and arms.

She broke three vertebra which resulted to her paralysis. One was her fifth vertebra which is located in the neck section of her spine. As for the other two, one was knocked out of place and the third one was squashed.

“The doctors did not know if I would walk again or if I would stay on a bed forever,” she narrated.

Doctors grafted a bone for Marcelle and also added a metal plate in her spine.

Recovery

Marcelle’s accident happened in 2016 and since then she has taken steps to full recovery.

Three days after her diagnosis, she was able to wiggle her toes and fingers. Within a month she was able to take her first steps with a walking frame.

“After four months I started to improve my leg strength and five months after the accident I stopped having fainting and dizziness while walking,” she said.

By six months, she was able to walk without her legs wobbling.

Marcelle has since fully recovered and is living a simple active lifestyle, appreciating the little things in life.