Three Key Takeaways Every Client Should Leave Their First SMR Session With

Sensorimotor Repatterning (SMR) is often unlike anything clients with chronic pain have experienced before. By the end of the first session, I aim to give each client three crucial insights—not just as concepts, but as things we can demonstrate together through testing and results:

1. The Nervous System is Wired for Safety

Our bodies prioritize safety above all else. The nervous system is constantly scanning for threats or instability. Chronic pain is often the result of the system perceiving something as unsafe, even when it’s no longer necessary.

2. Old Injuries Can Distort Sensory Feedback

Injuries or surgeries—even ones from years ago—can still send faulty sensory information to the brain. This misleading input can disrupt motor control and coordination, creating a cycle that leads to chronic pain. We can often pinpoint and begin resolving these patterns in the very first session.

3. Acupoints and the Nervous System Work Together

The acupoint system overlays the nervous system and gives us unique access points to rapidly change how the brain communicates with muscles. Using light manipulation at these acupoints, we can often correct motor control issues in minutes.

What Happens in the First Session?

In your first session, we’ll test 30–50 muscles on both sides of the body using manual muscle testing. This gives us a detailed, objective map of how your muscular system is functioning at the start. From here, we correlate the findings with your pain or symptoms and form a working hypothesis.

As we move into treatment, we continually re-test the previously dysfunctional muscles. Seeing those muscles regain strength and coordination in real-time provides clear evidence that your system is responding.

Our Shared Goal: Full Functional Recovery

No matter the client, the goal is consistent: restore normal, functional movement across all positions—lying down, standing, and eventually, during complex or dynamic movements. When all muscles test strong in all these contexts, and pain was driven by faulty patterns, relief tends to follow.

What to Expect After the First Session

Most clients complete their treatment in three sessions, plus a follow-up down the road to ensure the results hold.

However, every body is different. Suppose you’ve had multiple injuries or surgeries or are dealing with something like Post-Concussion Syndrome. In that case, your plan may look different—and I’ll usually have a good sense of that by the end of your first session and can inform you accordingly.

Read client success stories: www.vansmr.ca/testimonials