Next Steps NW - A better quality of Life through exercise for people with Paralysis.


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  Seattle


Located in the heart of Puget Sound, NextStepsNW is the Northwest's only paralysis recovery center geared towards regaining movement in those paralyzed due to illness, injury, disease or other neurological disorders.

Our mission is to maximize health, wellness, and quality of life for individuals with paralysis through an intensive exercise recovery therapy program.



The 3 major components in training are:

1.         Locomotor Treadmill Training

2.         Electrical Stimulation Cycling

3.         Visualization- Activation Muscle Training

  • Through a weight supported treadmill, locomotor training is used to retrain the nervous system to walk.
  • With Electrical Stimulation bikes, surface electrodes deliver low-level electrical pulses to the muscles that stimulate leg movement which helps prevent atrophy in the legs and glutes and improve muscle strength and circulation.
  • Visualization Muscle Activation Training - Clients visualize each movement while the therapist presses trigger points for muscle activation during the exercise.

What People Involved With Paralysis Say:

Dr. Wise Young, PhD, M.D. of Rutgers University said in his February 2005 article
on Care Cure –

“People who’ve been injured or paralyzed for decades, exercise will restore muscles in bones, and other organs. The more you keep your body and lower spinal cord alive and kicking, the less work and time it will take.”

Christopher Reeve was a strong proponent of aggressive exercise programs. He once said to Dr. Young –

                               “Hope is the first step. Without hope, we have nothing.”