Our Origin Story
This whole paralysis recovery process started with confusion and dissatisfaction:
Why wasn’t rehab working?
Like many kinds of life-changing health events, health care providers sponsor very little physical therapy after leaving the hospital. Due to visitation constraints, what is actually covered lends more to adaptation and life-skills with paralysis, with little-to-no actual neuro-rehabilitation – knowing how to help a patient become minimally functional in a wheelchair and knowing how to facilitate lasting bodily healing after paralysis are quite different specialties. Too often the latter is subjugated to the former.
Our paths came together at one of the top spinal cord injury recovery centers in California, as a client (Theo) and a trainer (Stephanie). Our work together there included a bevy of whole-body exercises, makeshift contraptions, and expensive equipment. There was some recovery of function at first, but progress plateaued. We noticed this was the case not only for Theo, but also for most other athletes at this adaptive gym: initial progress. Inevitable plateau.
The (unsatisfying) answer to stalled progress was always: more reps and more time! Just keep doing the same thing until something changes! This didn’t sound much different to us than Einstein’s definition of insanity: “doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results.” Not only that, but it eliminated any control the individual had over their recovery process.
We couldn’t accept that “more reps and more time” was going to work for us. There had to be a different way; one that required an analytical and step-wise approach, and also emphasized athlete ownership in the process.
Our quest for effective and lasting neurological connection brought us to completely unexpected places: the serene palms of Hawaii to the bustle of midtown Manhattan; lectures on connective tissue in Palm Springs to rolling on the floor like ameobas in Chicago; a Pilates-for-rehab conference in Phoenix; a laser-medicine doctor in Toronto. We looked for any clues that might unlock neuromuscular potential after paralysis, and we found more than we dreamed: approaches that work with the body to heal, rather than forcing recovery onto it.
What we found could not be kept secret: we synthesized all of our findings and experiences into a book, From the Ground Up: a human-powered framework for spinal cord injury recovery.
While our approach does not guarantee you will walk, it does prepare the body for all kinds of complex movements, walking and standing being some of them. The motions are small, but the changes are apparent inwardly and outwardly. Muscles begin to flicker where they had been unresponsive for years. You will gain confidence through movement, and your lifestyle improvements show it. The stalled progress regains momentum. This type of connection will stay with you forever.
Neither of us could have ever dreamed that we would find so much bodily connection, and so much spiritual fulfillment, after a paralyzing injury. We’re happy to have you discover this new world of paralysis rehab and share in the excitement of discovery.
