Integrated Functional Performance - Jeff Powell

Still have Disc or Nerve pain after trying everything?
I specialize in solving those problems. Comment or message “Me” to chat.

“Four years of stabbing sciatica.”
That’s how Rebecca described what she had been living with.
She had tried shots, pt, and more but nothing worked.

And when she first started working with me she was of course skeptical.
I don’t blame her.
After four years of pain and treatments that were supposed to help, why would she assume this would be any different?

But just under two weeks into our work together, the relief started becoming more lasting.
And when Rebecca later wrote in a 5 Star Review about her experience, she said she had been pain-free for more than five years.

I love her story because she got her life back.
Another reason I like this story is that it represents the struggle and path many walk..
When you’ve tried one treatment after another without getting better, eventually you start wondering:

“Am I just going to have to live with this?”
Or,
“Is surgery my only option?”

Given the conclusions people hear from therapists and doctors who haven’t succeeded in helping, many just feel too defeated to think:

“Maybe the problem isn’t that I’m unsolvable, maybe no one has discovered the real source yet?”

That’s the question I’m interested in.
I don’t want to give everyone with sciatica the same set of skills to solve it.
I want to investigate what your nervous system is responding to and what changes that response.
Your history matters, your symptoms matter, your movement matters, and your response to my unique Testing Method gives us clues about what to do next.

If you’ve tried multiple things for your disc or nerve pain and you’re still struggling, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts...

If your disc or nerve pain disappeared in the next two weeks, what’s the first thing you’d get back to doing?

What all have you tried so far for your disc or nerve pain?

"When to have spinal surgery and when to avoid it"

Anybody still need this FREE resource? Type "Me" 👇

IMHO, recovery from surgery starts BEFORE you have the surgery.
Think about this for a moment.
If you've been dealing with a disc or nerve problem for days, months, or even years, there's a good chance more has changed than whatever shows up on your MRI.

When pain and injury strike, your nervous system often becomes protective.
- Strength can decrease.
- Muscles may tighten or guard.
- You start moving differently.
- Movements that were once automatic can become stiff, scary, or unpredictable.
- Over time you may lose strength, conditioning, endurance and, perhaps most importantly...
Trust in your body.

Then comes surgery.

And sometimes surgery is absolutely the right tool.

But here's something I think too few people consider:
Surgery doesn't automatically give all of those things back.
It addresses the structural problem it was designed to address.

And surgery itself places another significant recovery demand on your body.
Which means you're bringing the body you had the day before surgery into the recovery that begins the day after it.

So why wait?

There's actually a name for preparing someone before surgery: prehabilitation, or "prehab."
And the research around spine surgery is encouraging.
Studies suggest that prehab can improve things such as strength, function, pain and fear of movement before surgery, with some benefits carrying into recovery afterward.
It doesn't guarantee a better outcome.

But the idea made tremendous sense to me:
Why wait until after surgery to start rebuilding what you can start rebuilding now?

So years ago, decades, actually, I started applying the same basic principles I use in recovery to Surgery Prep.
--> Reduce irritation where we can.
--> Restore strength and movement where we can.
--> Help the brain and body become more confident working together.
--> Build as much capacity as someone's condition safely allows.

Then, if surgery is necessary, go into it as prepared as reasonably possible.

What I started seeing surprised me.

People weren't just getting stronger before surgery.
Some seemed to be recovering REMARKABLY well afterward.

And then something happened that I really wasn't expecting...
A few people who were already scheduled for surgery improved enough during Surgery Prep that surgery didn't happen at all.
They simply felt too good, too strong, too confident in their bodies.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about Mark.
He's actually had that happen three times.
Twice with his low back.
Once with his neck.
And the last time, it was his surgeon who told him he was doing too well to justify the risk of a surgery.

There’s electrical stimulation…and then there’s electrical stimulation.
A lot of people see the pads and wires I use with clients sometimes and immediately think:
“Oh, like a TENS unit?”
Not exactly :)

TENS can be a very useful tool, particularly for helping some people manage pain.
But there’s another category of electrical stimulation I’ve been using for more than 20 years that works quite differently.

These devices use forms of pulsed direct current, or DC.
And just like phones, or pretty much any other technology, there are different brands and models with different characteristics. They aren't all the same, and I don't think there's one device that's automatically “best” for every person or every situation.

What makes this technology so interesting to me isn't simply that electricity is being applied to the body.
It's what I can potentially do with it.

Depending on the person and what we're trying to accomplish, I might use this technology to help us figure out things like:
• Why does that leg still feel weak even though you've been strengthening it?
• Why does a movement still hurt or feel restricted even though you've worked on it for months?
• Can we help a muscle that's been difficult to use start working better?
• Can we make a painful or scary movement feel easier or more trustworthy?
• Can we change something right now that gives us a clue about what's been keeping you stuck?
• And most importantly...if something does change, what does that tell us about what we should do next?

That last one is especially important.
Because I don't want to put electrodes on someone simply because “electrical stimulation is good.”

I want to know:
Did anything change?
Maybe we test a movement and something seems off.
We apply a very specific input using one of these devices.
Then we test again.
We see a change that is immediate and pretty remarkable.
More strength. More movement. Less discomfort. A movement suddenly feels safer or easier.
That’s good feedback, good information.

Sometimes nothing meaningful changes.
And that gives us information too. That leads us to our next step closer to success.

Over the 20+ years I've worked with different versions of this technology, I've seen some remarkable recoveries involving injuries, surgeries, chronic pain, and difficult neuromuscular problems.

Often I’d see these issues progress MUCH faster than I would have expected from other approaches.

Now that I’ve said all the amazing and super helpful benefits of these machines, this next bit might sound like the reverse…at first.:

I don't consider the device the solution.

I consider it an “accelerator”.

The technology doesn't replace figuring out what's actually going on but I’ve seen it speed results over and over.
It doesn't replace intelligent movement but I’ve seen it accelerate improvements.
It doesn't replace progressively rebuilding someone's capacity but I’ve seen it facilitate gains in much shorter times than would be typical.
And it definitely doesn't replace paying attention to how that individual responds but it does give me another incredibly useful way to ask the body a question.
And, with over 20 years of experience, it often helps me find the answer more quickly.

A simple way to think about the difference:

TENS:
Primarily known as a tool for pain modulation.

The pulsed DC technology I use
Can be used as a much broader neuromuscular input. It’s something I can integrate with assessment, muscle contraction, movement, loading and my test → input → retest process.

Both involve electricity.
But that doesn't make them the same thing.

And after more than two decades of using this technology, the electricity itself is actually the part I'm less fascinated by.
I'm much more fascinated by what someone's body does in response to it.
Because that response can give us another clue about what they may need next.
And when you've been struggling for months or years without answers, sometimes a really good clue is a pretty exciting thing to find. :)

Disc and Nerve recovery can be such a huge challenge.
When I talk to people it becomes clear pretty fast most are just guessing, jumping from one pro to the next, one treatment to the next essentially guessing about every step.

No judgement on anyone if that's you.
When that kind of pain and limitation strikes, any reasonable way out looks worth a try.
I've been there myself many years ago but after recovering many disc and nerve injuries of my own as well as helping hundreds of others to feel safe and confident again, things have become clear.

I’d like to help you to stop guessing with your recovery.
If you've been dealing with a stubborn disc, nerve, back, or neck problem for a while, I'm guessing you've tried some things. Maybe a lot of things.

Things I hear a lot are:
Stretching. Strengthening. Massage. Chiropractic. PT. Dry needling. Injections. Different exercises you found online.
Some may have helped for a while.
Some did absolutely nothing.
And maybe a few actually made things worse.

By the time I talk to people most are feeling this,
"What am I supposed to do?"

So I try to help them shift that mindset.

The problem isn't necessarily that you haven't found the right exercise, treatment, or technique yet.
The problem may be the strategy.
You see, two people can have remarkably similar symptoms (even similar findings on an MRI) and respond completely differently to the exact same thing.

So instead of asking, "What's the best exercise for a disc problem?" or following some protocol laid out for their specific diagnosis,

I think there's a much better question, actually a pair of questions:

“What skill is most likely to help right now, to be safe, and to be simple to perform?”

Then, as important,:
"How does your body respond when we do this?"

This process is crucial.
We test.
We give the body a very specific input.
Then we test again.

Did your movement improve?
Did strength change?
Did the symptoms centralize or spread?
Did something that felt threatening suddenly feel safer?
Did your body just tell us “Yes! This is a direction worth exploring”?
Or did it tell us nope...not yet?

That response gives me information.
And information helps me decide what happens next.
That is a systematic, more personalized, more effective approach.

That's very different from handing someone a sheet of "good exercises for sciatica" and hoping exercise #4 happens to be the magic one.

And it's one of the biggest things I want people who've been struggling for months, or sometimes years, to understand:
Your body is constantly giving you clues.
You just need someone who knows what they mean, to know how to ask the right questions and how to interpret the answers.

I've opened a few spots to work more closely with people who feel like they've tried everything but still don't have a recovery process that makes sense to them.
Not to give you another random thing to try.
To help you start figuring out what your body has been trying to tell you.

If that sounds like it might be a fit for you, comment, “Support”, below or send me Support in a private message.

I'll reach out and we can see if what I do might make sense for you.
If there’s a fit, we can get started right away.
If not, I’ll tell you that too and I’ll see if there is a better direction for you.

AN EXERCISE ISN'T THE SAME AS A SKILL.
Progressive Capacity Training™ (PCT) isn't simply a collection of “corrective exercises” or therapeutic movements.

Corrective and therapeutic exercises are often prescribed to fix a problem like to strengthen something weak, stretch something tight, improve mobility, reduce pain, etc.

Those things can absolutely have value.
But the purpose of PCT is different.
Using PCT we're progressively teaching your brain and body to handle more of real life again.
Real life dishes out higher speed, force, and demand for reactive ability than corrective exercises can deliver.

So PCT is not simply so you can “feel” better but so you can BE better.

There are a number of criteria I use to determine which skills are appropriate for Progressive Capacity Training™ and when.
But once I've selected a skill, there are three things I want my clients paying attention to:

POSITION

Every skill has a few key points of alignment that help put the neuromuscular system in a better position to recruit and coordinate the muscles we want. This helps prevent falling back into an old, protective or pain-based movement pattern.
This is not about “perfect posture.”
It's about identifying the handful of key points of body alignment that matter for this particular skill and seeking excellence in those.
Get those key pieces right and suddenly many of the things we're trying to change become possible.

BREATH

Breathing isn't something we just happen to do while exercising.
Each PCT skill has a simple breathing strategy that can help the deeper systems of the body support the movement we're trying to create.
Used well, breath can help support, encourage and sometimes even compel the result we're looking for.

And finally...
INTENTION

This one may be the least obvious and perhaps the most interesting.
Your brain isn't just responding to where your arms and legs happen to go.
What you're intending to do matters.
Each skill has an intention behind it.
And when we practice that intention repeatedly, we're helping send a very clear message to the nervous system:

THIS is how we want to move.
THIS is what we want to feel.
THIS is what we want your body to become capable of again.

Position.
Breath.
Intention.

Reading all of that might make PCT sound complicated.
In practice, I've found almost the complete opposite.
Instead of giving someone 14 things to think about while they're exercising, we identify the few things that actually matter and practice them with purpose.
And then we progressively build from there.

This approach changes pain patterns into healthy ones again and that builds confidence.

After ypu have suffered stubborn disc and nerve problems, my goal isn't simply to find exercises that make you hurt less.
It's to help your nervous system and body develop the capacity to confidently do more again.

That's the difference between simply “feeling” better and actually BEING better.

CORRECTIVE EXERCISE ISN'T REAL LIFE.
That became a problem for me.

For years, like many professionals, I used corrective and therapeutic exercises to help people with painful backs, disc injuries, sciatica, and other nerve problems.
And they can be helpful.
Great!

But eventually I had to ask a bigger question.
Does that improvement hold up when someone gets back to real life?

I ran into this dilemma myself through a number of injury recoveries and witnessed it over and over for clients.
I’d do the work but, when it came to getting back to real life activities, I still felt limited.
I was told to “go slow”, “listen to my body”, “be careful”, but no clear path to real confidence again.

You see, real life has speed.
It has force.
Real life requires you to react in an instant.

You stumble off a curb, you twist unexpectedly under the weight of a box, you swing a golf club in competition instead of at the range, or you pick up your child or grandchild who suddenly moves as you go to lift.

Your nervous system doesn't get three seconds to brace your core and remember your corrective exercise!

This is why I felt compelled to find a better solution that, after decades of development, is now called Progressive Capacity Training™.

PCT isn't simply designed to correct something.
It's designed to build something.
Relief from pain, trust in your body, and capacity for real life.
That’s a big difference vs just “feel better”.

PCT uses specifically selected movement skills designed to help restore cooperation between your Local stabilizing muscles and the Global muscles responsible for larger movements in an integrated, real life way.

Why does that matter?

Pain and nerve problems can disrupt that cooperation.
Your nervous system may respond by tightening, bracing, restricting movement, or relying too heavily on certain muscles to protect you.
That's useful when protection is genuinely needed.
It's a lousy long-term strategy for living!
It also, paradoxically, sets you up for greater risk of future pain and injury.

It simply a problem that must be solved.

With PCT, we start with pain-free movement your nervous system can comfortably handle now.

Actually, they are also selected for their observed ability to improve markers of muscle systems integration and central nervous system re-integration and to hold up under real life speed, force, and reaction times.

Essentially these are the things you need to not just feel better but to feel confident again.

Each successful experience gives your nervous system more evidence that movement can be handled without excessive protection.

We're helping the system move away from:
"Brace and protect!"
And toward:
"I've got this."

That makes a big difference because your brain has better things to do than constantly monitor your back, guard a painful movement, and organize your muscles around protection.

It needs those resources to react to real life.

Corrective exercise can absolutely help.
I still use it.
But I tend to use it as a supplement to PCT rather than the main event.

I don't just want my clients to become really good at rehab exercises for the sake of some cookie cutter protocol.

I want them to become really good at enjoying life again.
That's the needle PCT is designed to move.
My clients are not just building capacity for exercise.
They demand capacity for real life.