Janne Kouri, the founder of NextStep Fitness, was paralyzed from the neck down after a 2006 accident but refused to accept the limits placed on his recovery.

His determination to regain strength and independence led him to create a groundbreaking nonprofit that now provides life-changing rehab and fitness to people living with paralysis worldwide.

NextStep is a leading nonprofit making life-changing rehab and fitness accessible for people with paralysis. Too many lack the resources they need to live long, healthy lives.

We’re changing that by opening recovery centers nationwide, delivering proven, activity-based therapy that promotes recovery, independence, and lasting health.

NextStep’s paralysis recovery centers are located in Los Angeles (HQ), Atlanta, Orlando, Kansas City, Raleigh, Las Vegas, Ukraine (Two (2) Centers), New Zealand (Four (4) Centers), and Fort Wayne (Coming in 2027).

Our state-of-the-art, community-based centers offer affordable care and provide hope for individuals living with paralysis. Through research-driven, standardized activity-based therapy programs and interventions, we offer the best chance for recovery, independence, and improved health.

Every day in the U.S., nearly 6 million people live with paralysis, facing not only the physical challenges of their condition but also the limitations of a healthcare system that often falls short of meeting their needs.

Most individuals are discharged from hospitals after only about 36 days of rehab — a fraction of the time required to begin meaningful recovery.

This abrupt cutoff leaves them and their families unprepared for the long journey ahead, without the tools or guidance to continue building strength, mobility, and independence.

For many, the promise of progress is cut short by a lack of access to continued care.

Without long-term support, people living with paralysis are left to battle overwhelming medical costs that can drain families financially, while also coping with declining health that results from inactivity and insufficient therapy.

The daily struggle goes far beyond mobility — it’s about avoiding dangerous complications, maintaining mental health, and finding ways to live a fulfilling, independent life. Without affordable, specialized resources, many are forced into isolation, unable to work, and dependent on caregivers for even the simplest tasks.

This is why organizations like NextStep are so vital: they fill the gap, offering a lifeline of ongoing rehab and fitness that gives people living with paralysis not just hope, but the opportunity to reclaim their lives.

Currently, many in this community lack the essential resources needed to lead long, healthy, and fulfilling lives, with limited access to affordable rehab, adaptive fitness programs, and the kind of specialized support that makes long-term recovery possible.

Too often, people living with paralysis are discharged from initial hospital rehab and left without a clear path forward, creating a cycle of declining health, mounting costs, and lost independence. Families are forced to shoulder not just emotional weight, but also the overwhelming financial and logistical burden of care.

This gap in services leaves countless individuals isolated and struggling, even though the tools for meaningful recovery already exist.

NextStep aims to change that by opening paralysis recovery centers nationwide, building a network of facilities that provide a true continuum of care and dramatically improve quality of life for this underserved population.

By expanding access to community-based, long-term rehab, NextStep ensures that progress doesn’t end after hospital discharge but continues for years to come. Through our research-based, standardized activity-based therapy programs, we offer the best chance for recovery, independence, and improved overall health.

Beyond physical rehab, NextStep provides community, empowerment, and hope—giving people living with paralysis the opportunity not just to survive, but to thrive.

Since 2008, NextStep has launched a powerful nationwide and global movement, opening world-class paralysis training centers across the U.S. and abroad to meet the urgent needs of people living with paralysis.

These centers serve as lifelines, offering affordable access to advanced rehabilitation, fitness, and wellness programs that allow individuals to regain strength, mobility, and independence.

What began as a single vision has grown into a network of hope, inspiring thousands of clients and their families while raising awareness about the critical importance of long-term care.

Each new center represents another community empowered with the tools and support needed to transform lives.

NextStep also made history by becoming the first community-based center in the Reeve Foundation NeuroRecovery Network to offer advanced Locomotor Training, a groundbreaking therapy that was once only available in major research hospitals.

This achievement broke barriers and proved that cutting-edge rehab could be brought directly into communities where it was most needed. By standardizing these programs and expanding them worldwide, NextStep has ensured that more people than ever before can access recovery opportunities once thought impossible.

This pioneering work continues to set the standard for what community-driven rehabilitation can achieve, giving people living with paralysis a genuine chance at a healthier, fuller life.

The NEURORECOVERY NETWORK  is the Standard of Excellence - NextStep is a proud member and leader of the NeuroRecovery Network (“NRN.”) 

The NRN provides support for the development of specialized facilities that provide standardized activity-based recovery interventions based on current scientific evidence for people with neurological disorders for recovery of function, health, and quality of life.

We serve people with: Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Cerebral Palsy (CP), Parkinson's, and other neurological conditions.

Our services include NeuroRecovery Network Certified Trainers, Activity-Based Therapy, Locomotor Training, Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES), Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), Vibration Training, state-of-the-art accessible equipment, strength training, cardiovascular exercise, and more.