About BackCompass

Why this exists, who made it, and how to support it.

Why this exists

I built this because I was lost. When my back went wrong, I had no map — just a wall of programs and methods, each one certain it was the answer. I tried plenty of them. I did the wrong things for a while, made it worse, and only found what actually worked for me far later, and far more painfully, than I needed to.

I wish someone had walked me through the options honestly: what each one is really for, where it fits, and who it isn't for. So that's all this is. It isn't the solution — no single thing is. Recovery is usually a combination of different, sustained efforts, and that nuance gets lost the moment someone sends you one program that claims to be the answer. So this is a compass — a way to see the whole landscape and find the path that's right for you.

If it saves you even some of the time I lost — and helps you get to your own fresh start sooner — it's done its job.

— written by someone who got there the long way
The short version These aren't rival products — they're steps on a path. Most back pain settles with time and conservative care. Some doesn't. Nothing here is ranked "best"; the goal is finding what fits your situation and stage.
Coming next

A companion app for your recovery

I'm building a companion app: log your symptoms and see whether things are trending the right way — and which movements or habits that seems to track with. Get pointed toward what fits your stage, learn more about your situation as you go, and find some mental and motivational support — plus a community — for the parts that are hard to face alone. Want to know when it's ready?

Prefer paper?

The complete guide as a PDF

The whole guide — all 25 approaches and every kind of back pain — laid out as one clean document. Read it offline, print it, mark it up, take it to your appointment, or hand it to a family member who would rather not scroll through a website. Nothing in it is hidden from this site; everything here stays free. You are paying for the format, and for keeping the project going.

Get the PDF · pay what you want

37 pages. Suggested $12, but pay whatever it is worth to you — including nothing if money is tight.

Keep it going

This is a first version, made by one person who got tired of the confusion. If it helped you — or saved you some of the time I lost — a small donation tells me it's actually useful and worth keeping alive. It goes toward updates: I know I've left methods out, and I want to keep adding and correcting them. No pressure — but knowing people find it valuable is what will decide how far I take this.