Back Pain Care: A New Hope

TLDR: Building a new way to care for back pain. Looking for 10 people to join the first 7-day cohort. Apply here.

💡

Update: 8 people have joined, so looking for 2 more :)

Hello! I’m Rohan. I’ve had back pain since I was 13. I think back pain care is broken.

Heart disease → EKG

Brain issues → MRI

Back pain → Poking? Prodding? Eyeballs?

What can’t be measured can’t be improved. So I’m figuring out my back pain by tracking my back movement, with a tank top I made.

💔 The status quo: Why care is broken

Physical Therapy: Doing their best with an incomplete understanding of how I move.

Painkillers/Surgery: Proven to not work. Still over prescribed, ruining many lives.

Apps: Generic stretches with no understanding of how I move.

Gadgets: Posture buzzers tell me when I’m slouching, but not why your back hurts. Back pain is about better movement, not better posture.

😵‍💫 My story: Rohan, M25 - My lifelong affair with back pain

I’ve dealt with back pain since I was 13. During my teens, I tried everything: physio, chiro, osteo, acupuncture - you name it, I’ve tried it.

Found in my camera roll from when I was 13

By 18, I gave up. I was back in PT by 22. This time, I went in search of the best care.

I spent £100s I didn’t have, only to be given more cookie-cutter exercises, which I was terrified of doing, in fear of moving wrong and making my pain worse.

At the time, I was building an EKG machine whilst studying biomedical engineering.

I began to wonder:

Why do we quantify every major medical condition before treatment, except back pain?

Heart problems → EKG, cancer → MRI, diabetes → bloods.

Back pain → poking, prodding, eyeballing, trial-and-error exercises. Makes no sense.

Me building an EKG machine at 22

I dove into the research and read an article that changed everything. It turns out:

Back movement is a biomarker of back pain

I.e. if I track how my back moves, I can see whether I’m getting better or not!

I asked 10 PTs why this isn’t the norm. They all said:

”We eyeball it but to be honest, my practice wants me to focus on upping patient numbers.”

I couldn’t believe the system was failing me in such a profound way, so I built it myself:

Version 1: wires all over. Wouldn’t want to be caught wearing this in a public…

Version 2: Nice and streamlined.

My friend with scoliosis tried it for his pain.

Version 3: Build into a tank top so I can throw it on in the morning

For the first time in my life, I understand my back!

I can see which parts of my back need attention.

So I now choose my stretches based on that.

And I can see my movement improving day by day.

❤️‍🩹 What I’m doing: Tracking my back movement to figure out my pain

I made a tank top to track my back movement. It’s a lightweight undershirt with sensors in the fabric.

Data you can measure:

Range of motion (how much each section of my spine moves)

Velocity (how freely I move)

Curvature (how my posture changes across the day)

Movement symmetry (my time in flexion vs extension)

With my data, I can finally:

See which part of my spine aren’t seeing enough movement

Tailor exercises to my movement habits

Track whether my movement is actually improving

🗺️ What I’m sharing: Daily micro-exercise, based on your back movement

Week 1:

Wear your tank during the day, for 7 days. At the end of each day, you get:

Summaries of your daily back movement

Analysis of your upper, middle and lower back movement.

I have upper back pain. Turns out my upper back isn’t moving enough.

1 personalised exercise based on your data and pain.

Exercise for my friend with lower back pain based on his date

Daily reminders to do your exercises, to help you build the habit.

There’ll be no messing around when it comes to sticking to your plan

End of week catch up:

Review your progress, pain changes, and what felt good thus far.

Week 2: feedback call + 7 day movement program

We’ll call to review your progress, pain changes, what helped and share feedback.

You’ll get a 7-day movement program based on your data and what felt good during week 1.

You’ll continue to receive daily reminders to do your program, to help you build your movement habit.

You’ll also have access to me 24/7 via text or phone, to answer any questions that arise.

🍄 What it costs: $99

$99 covers:

Everything detailed above

Shipping from the UK to wherever you are.

I want 1 week of 24/7 tracking to be no more than the price of a 30-minute PT session.

FAQ

Who’s this for?

Anyone with chronic or recurring back pain who’s open to trying something new.

Is this a medical device?

Not yet. This is an early pilot to see if this works for other folks too.

When is the deadline to join?

The deadline to join the cohort is: 23rd Oct, 2025