THE NEUFIT METHOD

A debut manual describes a neurology-focused rehabilitation regimen.

Conventional rehab for an injury tends to center on the bones and muscle tissue, either through physical therapy, surgery, or medication. But these methods are unlikely to be sufficient when the damage is neurological, as many injuries are. In this book, Salpeter introduces NeuFit, his original, neurology-based rehab program meant to help those who have not found success with more traditional methods. It can also be useful to those who simply want to use their bodies to their fullest physical potentials. The author has benefited from neurology-focused therapy himself: His own journey through rehab began with a wrist injury during his college hockey career. “A few days before my scheduled surgery,” he recalls in his introduction, “I went to see a chiropractic neurologist. He took an approach to rehab I’d never seen before: using manual techniques that focused on changing the neurological responses to the damage, he stimulated the muscles around my wrist injury.” Thrilled by the results of this treatment, Salpeter went on to perfect the method. The author outlines the science underlying NeuFit, which is built around electrical stimulation therapy. He discusses the accompanying rehab strategies as well as general ways to improve health and access untapped potential via neurology-centered approaches. Salpeter makes some big promises right off the bat: His intro opens with the story of a woman who, following one session of NeuFit, was able to walk again after being wheelchair-bound for 25 years. He uses patient stories to illustrate the NeuFit process while taking pains to explain the anatomical processes at work. His prose is lean and easy to follow: “Given the hierarchy of the nervous system, what does optimal nervous system function look like? When it comes to nervous system health, the goal is to shift between states of (sympathetic) high activity and (parasympathetic) rest and recovery as often as necessary to reach our health and fitness targets.” For those suffering from long-term injuries, the picture he paints is a tempting one. The book is essentially a 300-page pamphlet for his program—at times, a fairly convincing one—but readers will need to decide for themselves whether or not it seems worth pursuing.

A slick, comprehensive, sometimes persuasive examination of an injury rehab program.