The Hardware and Software of the Body

May 2, 2021

Let’s think about the “hardware” of the body being the bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles and the nervous system as the “software” that runs that hardware.⁠ ⁠

When injuries occur, we often pay a lot of attention to the rehabilitation of those hardware structures without much consideration towards the software that’s actually driving that recovery. Until recently, many people just sort of assumed that if we gave those injured areas a chance to heal, they would go back to normal.⁠ ⁠

What we now know about the nervous system indicates that injuries affect more than just the structural level. Neurological function becomes impaired after injury as part of the body’s attempt to protect us from getting hurt again.

But it often does that by limiting baseline function in a way that lingers even after the injury has healed. So that ankle you sprained six months ago is still feeling a little bit weak and tight even though the hardware has been repaired for months. ⁠ ⁠

To use the software analogy, we use the Neubie to “debug” or “re-educate” your nervous system, restoring optimal performance.⁠