Move It or Lose It | Episode 145 | Garrett Salpeter: NeuFit

Podcast Date: March 11, 2026
Host: Kathy Chester
Guest: Garrett Salpeter, Founder & CEO of NeuFit

Episode Overview

In this engaging and informative episode, host Kathy Chester welcomes Garrett Salpeter, the founder and CEO of NeuFit, to discuss the paradigm-shifting role of the nervous system in healing, pain management, and neurorehabilitation. The conversation explores Garrett’s personal journey, the genesis and science of the NeuFit Method and the “Neubie” device, and its applications for autoimmune and neurological conditions including multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s, and brain injuries. Listeners gain a deep dive into neuroplasticity, the body-mind connection, and how innovative electrical stimulation technologies are giving new hope to those who were told improvement was impossible.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Garrett’s Background and the Birth of NeuFit

• Academic and Athletic Roots

  • Garrett shares how growing up as a passionate hockey player and experiencing frustrations with traditional physical therapy led him to explore the intersection of engineering, neuroscience, and athletic performance.
  • "I had several really disappointing experiences with traditional physical therapy, traditional orthopedic medicine...that was my catalyst for wanting to learn more about the human body." (04:02)

• Personal Breakthrough

  • A pivotal injury led Garrett to functional neurology and electrical stimulation, which healed his torn ligaments and avoided surgery, sparking his career shift.
  • "Using...these techniques informed by neuroscience, I was able to heal my ligaments and avoid surgery. It literally changed the trajectory of what I want to do with my life." (05:00–06:00)

• Creation of the Neubie & Evolution into Clinical Practice

  • Years of “laboratory” clinical work and seeing results in both athletes and neurological patients inspired Garrett to improve existing tech and ultimately create the Neubie device.
  • Anecdote: A patent attorney client, inspired by his own recovery, pushes Garrett to pursue patents, catalyzing the official start of the medical device company. (09:11–10:27)

2. Nervous System as the Control Hub for Healing

• Why Target the Nervous System?

  • Garrett explains the “software” analogy: the nervous system controls every function, movement, and even healing in the body, going far beyond muscles and bones.
  • "The nervous system is the control system of the body...if we're going to target an intervention somewhere, does it make sense to think about how we can influence the underlying control system of the body?" (11:42–13:11)

• Pain Science and Protective Responses

  • New scientific understanding sees pain as a brain-generated protective response—not just a direct signal from injury.
  • "Pain is essentially an emotional signal created by the brain as part of our brain's strategy for protecting us." (13:32–14:51)
  • Kathy draws parallels with movement compensations and fear-based chronic limitations in neuro-disabled patients. (15:53)

• Fight-or-Flight, Autonomic Balances, and Chronic Pain

  • Garrett coins a vivid analogy: reacting to a toy snake as if it were venomous demonstrates chronic, uncalibrated threat responses.
    • "A lot of times it's about teaching the nervous system to calibrate appropriately, because so many times it's reacting to an injury as if it just happened yesterday—even though it was years ago." (18:12–19:08)

3. Overcoming Skepticism & Psychological Barriers

• Common Skepticism in Patients With Chronic Issues
  • Many chronic patients believe “nothing works”; Garrett views this as a protective response to avoid disappointment and describes educational and experiential methods to overcome it.
  • "I think that's a psychological protective response just the same as pain...not wanting to get their hopes up because things haven't worked in the past." (21:06–21:32)

4. Understanding & Harnessing Neuroplasticity

• What is Neuroplasticity?

  • Both discuss how traditional medicine only recently recognized the brain’s adult capacity to change. Neuroplasticity can be positive or negative, “use it or lose it.”
  • "Neuroplasticity...is just the capability of changing in response to stimulus...it is neither positive nor negative, it's neutral. Move it or lose it—the title of this podcast is very applicable." (24:22–29:03)

• Building Better Patterns

  • It's necessary to sometimes "go back to go forward"—retraining out of maladaptive patterns is just as important as learning new ones.
  • "We may have to go back to go forward to learn some good brain plasticity." (28:23–29:34)

5. Cognitive Issues, Brain-Body Connection, and Mood

• Movement and Cognition Interlinked

  • Though most striking Neubie successes have been in motor recovery, movement training also drives cognitive improvements—supported by research on exercise, neurotransmitters, and neurotrophic factors.
  • "There’s a great book called Spark...documenting the effects of bodily exercise on neurotransmitter release in the brain, on BDNF...also vascular endothelial growth factors." (35:05–35:58)

• Sleep, Autonomic Improvements & Anxiety

  • The Neubie also influences autonomic function (e.g., vagus nerve, HRV, sleep in Parkinson’s)—helping modulate inflammation and stress, with users reporting reduced anxiety and clearer minds.
  • "We hear people often say they feel less anxious, they feel better, more mentally clear." (38:55–39:04)
  • "Releasing bodily tension patterns...can get rid of some of the underlying triggers for anxiety...the brain-body connection is a two way street." (40:51–41:05)

6. How the Neubie Device Works & Practical Access

• Device & Mapping Techniques

  • The Neubie uses mapped electrical stimulation to identify and target underpowered or hypersensitive neurological pathways, rapidly increasing input to drive neuroplastic adaptation—accelerating what slow, repetitive movement alone would do.
  • "It's like you're traveling a distance...you can choose whether you're gonna walk or ride a horse or drive a car or take an airplane. This is sort of like the equivalent of turning it from a road trip to an airplane trip.” (46:44–47:16)

• Stories of Transformation

  • Notable patient story: “Wendy,” with MS for 20+ years, wheelchair-bound for nearly a decade, regains leg movement and ultimately her goal to walk her son down the aisle after persistent Neubie therapy.
  • "She eventually reached her initial goal...being able to get out of her wheelchair and walk holding her husband's hand...[then was] able to walk her son down the aisle at his wedding." (51:10–51:49)

• How to Access Neubie

  • 80% of Neubie devices are used by clinicians (PT, OT, chiro, rehab, sports); 20% by individuals at home, with rental and purchase options available for home use if clinical sites are inaccessible.
  • Daily, varied use is emphasized, ranging from intensive training to restorative protocols like the “master reset.” (43:01–45:05)

7. Final Reflections & Takeaways

• Why Trust in Neurorehabilitation and the Neubie Approach?
  • Takeaway for patients: The nervous system's capacity to adapt means that there is opportunity for improvement, even for long-standing neurological conditions often deemed “hopeless” by traditional medicine.
  • "Nothing motivates like results. So seeing results, especially when you've been stalled for a long time.” (22:17–23:21)
  • "If you're going to move it or lose it, use it or lose it, it's really important to try, to keep the opportunity for improvement open." (29:47–30:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Pain and Motor Behavior:
  "Pain is created in response to perceived threat or the perceived threat of harm in the future. So it's a brain, is a prediction machine...it's afraid that something bad might happen if we do this." — Garrett (15:46)

• On Neuroplasticity:
  "Neuroplasticity is just the capacity to change. We can change better or change for the worse...the biggest way that we have the downside of neuroplasticity is lose it, you know, by not moving, not using it." — Garrett (29:34)

• On Hope and Motivation:
  "At the same time I think the person is there because they still—there's still at least a small part of them that believes something can happen and something. And so I want to find a way to speak to that part of them." — Garrett (22:01)

• On Rapid Progress:
  "For the first time in a couple of years, she straightened her leg, lifted her foot...then she was able to get enough mobility in her hips to actually hinge down...go down to put on her own shoes and socks." — Garrett, on patient Wendy (48:22–48:58)

• On the Mind-Body Connection:
  "The brain-body connection is a two way street...it also receives signals from the body that are a strong influence on how the brain perceives and organizes...you can actually improve anxiety from a bottom up, body first approach." — Garrett (40:51–41:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction, Garrett’s background: 02:12–06:23
• Neurological healing, electric stimulation science: 06:23–10:27
• Pain, nervous system as control system: 11:42–15:46
• Fight/flight, learned fear and chronic pain: 15:46–19:08
• Neuroplasticity deep dive: 24:22–30:35
• Maladaptive patterns & retraining: 28:23–29:34
• Movement/cognitive connections: 35:05–36:32
• Sleep, inflammation, autonomic function: 36:53–38:24
• Anxiety, body-brain feedback: 38:55–41:10
• How Neubie works, mapping, accelerating rehab: 45:39–47:16
• Transformational patient stories: 47:34–51:49
• Accessing Neubie (clinical & at-home): 43:01–45:05
• Final advice and inspiration: 51:10–53:22

Resources Mentioned

• NeuFit & The Neubie Device: neufit.com — includes clinic directory, device info, and training
• Book: The NeuFit Method by Garrett Salpeter (also available on Audible, read by the author) (31:46–32:10)
• “Spark” Book Reference: Cited for research on movement & brain chemistry (35:05)

Tone & Style

• Conversational, supportive, and deeply empathetic
• Science-backed but accessible for those new to neurology or therapy
• Light, encouraging, and practical—underscoring hope, actionable advice, and the importance of movement

Summary Takeaway

Movement and neuroplasticity are vital to healing, even in the face of daunting neurological diagnoses. Devices like Neubie, and methods that focus on the nervous system, are redefining what's possible for patients with autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases—delivering not just physical improvement, but hope.

For more, find Move It or Lose It on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, or visit msdisrupted.com for resources and episode archives.