From the Ground Up: A Human-Powered Framework for Spinal Cord Injury Recovery

Theo St. Francis · Stephanie Comella

shk 2020 · Zebrafish Neuro

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Every individual who endures a spinal cord injury leaves the hospital thinking the same thing: "Now what?" There is no agreed-upon protocol, or even set of best-practices, for how to reconnect a paralyzed body. Drawing from movement disciplines not usually associated with paralysis recovery, the authors, Theo St. Francis and Stephanie Comella, apply the science of biotensegrity and the innate capacity of the body to heal itself to the challenge of neurological reconnection. With fully-illustrated exercise descriptions, this clinical perspective is written for both those recovering from spinal cord injury and for their movement trainers. From the Ground Up is an in-depth exploration of how to claim ownership of the recovery journey, both inside and out.

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At the very beginning of his first semester as an undergraduate at MIT, Theo fractured his C6 vertebra in a swimming accident on an island in the Boston Harbor. This immediately propelled him into the world of SCI rehab, where he set out to find the most restorative therapies and to commit himself to return to school, unencumbered by physical ability.

For Theo, recovery was never solely about walking. Of course, that was always a motivating goal, but what was most important in his journey was ensuring that his brain was not hindered by his body, living fully independently without the need to make life decisions based on ability and, on a very fundamental level, feeling like himself again. 

Now, all three of those are true. After five years in full-time rehab, working with practitioners across the U.S. and in Canada, and studying anatomy textbooks as if his life depended on them (it sort of did), Theo returned to MIT to again pursue his dream of Aerospace Engineering in 2018. When he’s not doing his standing and floor-mobility exercises, you can find Theo working on rocket engines or planning his next open-water swim adventure.

Stephanie has engaged in over 30,000 hours working directly with individuals with spinal cord injury and other neurological disorders since 2011. She blends her formal education in movement science, Pilates and other mindful movement modalities with neurological science to provide an intuitive, hands-on style of teaching focused on body re-connection.

Stephanie graduated from the University of California, Davis in 2011 with a B.S. in Exercise Biology. She studied sports medicine and exercise-based rehabilitation as an intern with the university's Division I athletes. After graduation in 2011, Stephanie worked for a spinal cord injury & neurological disorder activity-based therapy facility in Pleasanton, CA for four years.

She was first introduced to Pilates in 2014, where she attended a workshop presented by Alejandra Monsalve of Body Wellness Hawaii, which forever changed her thinking about spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Stephanie quickly transitioned to this new model and started a pilates-based SCI recovery program at Absolute Center in Lafayette, CA in 2015.

She opened her own business in 2020 (Stephanie Comella Movement Coaching), working one-on-one with individuals with SCI and other neurological conditions both virtually and at her private studio located in Bend, Oregon. 

Stephanie is a Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher (NCPT) and continues to educate herself through courses focused on neurological rehabilitation and healing.