Greetings!
Due to my husband's injury, I have done countless hours of research on intensive (chronic) rehab . . . sometimes referred to as activity or exercise based and/or restorative rehab. I have recently been able to visit two facilities that provide such therapies. Each has provided me with information about how they utilize spasms to elicit voluntary movement (which kind of sounds like you are unknowingly doing). One of the therapists has me doing some things with my husband (at home) while we are waiting to determine which facility we are going to enter him in. One thing I do is sit on the end of his bed (on my knees), and I slightly bend his knees and place his feet on my thighs. I then do things to make him spasm (like tickle his feet, tug on his catheter, thump just below his knee, etc.). Once I see a spasm coming on, I tell him to push his feet down on my thighs. When we first started doing this . . . I couldn't feel anything, but now he can almost push me off the bed . . . so it seems to be doing something. We are both looking forward to seeing what other types of things they will do with him in therapy that uses his spasms.
I see from your profile that you are a fairly new injury. I have also learned that the earlier the better for this kind of rehab. It's hard to get insurance to agree . . . but, I'm learning it's not impossible; you just have to jump through the hoops, get your doctor on board, and don't give up.
I also see you are from he DC area. There is an awesome activity-based rehab program offered at the Kennedy Krieger Institute by Dr. John McDonald. I've attached an informative link that is a comparison study (of sorts), that compared this type of rehab in the top facilities around the world. We would have loved to have gone there, but it's across the U.S. and luckily there are some facilities closer to us.
I know this doesn't really answer your question as to what it means, but I say . . . go with it and keep on moving; voluntary movement is always a good thing.
Good Luck,
Joye
http://www.sci-therapies.info/Rehabilitation.htm