Which Physiologic Restraint Sounds Most Like You?

This is not a diagnostic quiz.

It is a way to understand why the same complaint can point toward different areas of physiology.

Steadfast evaluates patients across five Capacity Domains. The Primary Physiologic Restraint is then derived from the full clinical picture rather than assigned from one symptom or questionnaire answer.

Still, certain patterns can suggest where a deeper evaluation may be useful.

Oxidative / Mitochondrial

You may recognize patterns such as:

• low energy that feels disproportionate to your workload,
• unusually poor endurance,
• exercise that becomes metabolically expensive early,
• difficulty sustaining output even when motivation is high,
• slow recovery from work that used to feel manageable,
• or a sense that your system is simply "underpowered."

This domain focuses on the ability to generate, sustain, and recover usable energy through oxidative metabolism.

Neuroendocrine / Autonomic

Possible patterns include:

• difficulty winding down despite feeling tired,
• fragmented or unrefreshing sleep,
• stress reactivity that seems out of proportion,
• inconsistent energy and recovery,
• hormonal changes occurring alongside sleep or stress disruption,
• or performance that varies dramatically with life stress.

This domain examines the signaling systems that coordinate stress, hormonal adaptation, recovery, and regulation.

Cardiopulmonary Delivery

Possible patterns include:

• becoming winded sooner than expected,
• heart rate rising rapidly at low workloads,
• reduced endurance despite reasonable muscular strength,
• difficulty sustaining aerobic work,
• or a mismatch between effort and the amount of work being produced.

This domain focuses on the delivery and use of oxygen needed to sustain physical and cognitive output.

Fuel Regulation / Metabolic

Possible patterns include:

• stubborn body-composition change despite consistent effort,
• large energy swings around meals or training,
• difficulty accessing or using fuel efficiently,
• weight loss that comes with a major loss of strength or energy,
• or a body that seems less responsive to the same nutrition and training strategy that used to work.

This domain examines how the body regulates, partitions, stores, and uses available energy.

Inflammatory / Regenerative

Possible patterns include:

• persistent soreness or pain,
• recurrent tendon or soft-tissue problems,
• unusually slow healing,
• repeated flare-ups that interrupt training,
• chronic inflammatory burden,
• or a body that never seems fully recovered before the next demand.

This domain focuses on inflammation, tissue repair, immune burden, and regenerative demand.

Most people recognize themselves in more than one section

That is expected.

The five domains are interconnected, and symptoms overlap.

The purpose of the Steadfast system is not to force a patient into one box. It is to determine which area currently exerts the greatest restriction on the whole system and which subcategories make that restraint actionable.

That conclusion requires more than a checklist.

It may include medical history, laboratory analysis, Objective Capacity, Capacity Expression, metabolic testing, body composition, medications, training history, sleep, recovery, or other targeted measurements.

The question to ask

Instead of asking, "Which diagnosis do these symptoms sound like?" ask:

Which physiology needs to be measured so we can stop guessing?

Find My Starting Point

Explore the SCI

This guide is educational and is not a self-diagnostic tool.