The Framework
The Steadfast Capacity Index™
One integrated Capacity Profile designed to show what is helping you, what is compensating, and what is most limiting you.
What the SCI is
The SCI is the clinical organization and measurement framework used within Capacity Medicine.
It integrates available objective and contextual data to evaluate a patient across five Primary Physiologic Restraints.
Its purpose is not to generate a simplistic health grade. Its purpose is to improve clinical prioritization, establish measurable baselines, and track whether the relevant areas of capacity improve over time.
Five Primary Physiologic Restraints
The SCI evaluates each patient across the following five domains.
Oxidative / Mitochondrial Limitation
Evaluates the ability to generate, sustain, and recover usable energy through oxidative metabolism.
Relevant information may include metabolic efficiency, aerobic physiology, substrate utilization, nutrient sufficiency, cellular-energy markers, fatigue patterns, and recovery behavior.
Neuroendocrine / Autonomic Dysregulation
Evaluates the coordination of stress response, hormonal signaling, nervous-system regulation, sleep, recovery, and adaptive readiness.
Relevant information may include hormonal patterns, autonomic balance, sleep quality, stress tolerance, symptom patterns, and recovery response.
Cardiopulmonary Delivery Limitation
Evaluates the ability to deliver and utilize oxygen and nutrients in support of physical and cognitive output.
Relevant information may include VO2, ventilatory thresholds, heart-rate response, oxygen pulse, recovery kinetics, cardiovascular risk, respiratory function, and conditioning.
Fuel Regulation / Metabolic Dysfunction
Evaluates the ability to regulate, access, partition, and use glucose, fatty acids, and stored energy appropriately.
Relevant information may include glucose and insulin regulation, metabolic flexibility, body composition, lipid patterns, resting metabolism, fuel utilization, appetite, and energy availability.
Inflammatory / Regenerative Burden
Evaluates the burden placed on the body by inflammation, injury, immune activation, impaired tissue repair, or unresolved regenerative demands.
Relevant information may include inflammatory markers, pain, tissue dysfunction, immune burden, healing response, musculoskeletal limitations, and recovery capacity.
The SCI is a clinical organization framework. It is not a closed or validated medical diagnostic algorithm.
What the Patient Receives
Depending on the available clinical picture, a patient's Capacity Profile may identify:
What the Scoring Looks Like
Below is an illustrative example of how a Capacity Profile is presented. Each domain is scored, the most limiting one is flagged as the Primary Physiologic Restraint, and the overall index is tracked at each reassessment to show whether capacity is improving.
Steadfast Capacity Index™
An illustrative 0–100 view of usable physiologic reserve.
- Energy85
- Fuel68Restraint
- Cardio86
- Neuro90
- Inflam79
Raw average
82
Restraint penalty
-4
Adaptation
+6
SCI over time
Reassessed each panelSample values shown for illustration only. The SCI is a clinical organization framework, not a validated or population-standardized score.
A Restraint Is Not a Diagnosis
A Diagnosis
Identifies a disease, condition, or pathology.
A Physiologic Restraint
Identifies the dominant functional limitation affecting adaptation, recovery, or performance at that point in time.
A physiologic restraint is not a replacement for a medical diagnosis. Both may matter, but they answer different questions.
Measurement Integrity
The SCI should not be marketed as a predictive, validated, or population-standardized score until those claims are supported by formal data. It is used to support clinical prioritization based on the available clinical picture, not to generate a fixed grade or percentile.
Begin With Identification
Find the right entry point into Capacity Medicine.