Moving into Phase III doesn’t mean your body has stopped relearning. It hasn’t. Your body will continue in Phases I and II throughout the entire recovery process. You don’t just graduate from one phase to another, it is a gradual change that happens over time. There are clients taking steps and walking who still have paralyzed areas of their bodies in Phases I and II. 

Phase III is where recovery really starts to move away from traditional occupational practices. It is our belief that your nervous system is trying to connect the way it did before your accident, but without the proper external stimulation to re-teach it, the result is spasm and tone. Our knowledgeable, skilled Specialists can help retrain spasm and tone into controlled movement. Because you will enter Phase III with stable joints, a Specialist will be able to create a desired movement by manipulating your body and applying resistance thus creating stronger contractions. You will graduate Phase III when you can create controlled movement without any assistance from a Specialist.

As we work to diminish spasm and tone, we do not do this with medications or Botox. Using medication will treat the symptoms, but does not help with the long-term goal of movement and coordination. When you contract a muscle thousands of times with the right stimulation, the nerves and muscles will gain continued strength but more importantly, coordination. This is why our clients start with simple exercises to stabilize their joints in the earlier phases of recovery training. In time, the muscles are performing isometric contractions. With the right skills, a Specialist can take these small isometric contractions and teach the client how to control them through the full range of motion. This technique is called Active Nervous System Recruitment (ANSR)™. Our certified Specialists are the only practitioners who understand and utilize ANSR.

Results of Phase III Strength:  Eccentric/Concentric Muscle Contractions

• Decreased spasms
• Decreased tone
• Decreased pain
• Decreased medications
• Decreased complications associated with SCI
• Increased function
• Increased muscle control
• Increased circulation
• Increased sensation
• Increased quality of life
• Increased independence

A side affect of Phase III is an increase in occupational abilities. Each client comes to us with a goal of walking, but amazing things happen along the way in the form of occupational milestones. In phase III, most clients are able to drive, can transfer using their legs for support, can stand without a standing frame, and many have gained back their independence.