You’ve tried the stretches. You’ve seen the physios. Your back still hurts.
I studied why most back pain advice doesn’t work. Then I built something that does.
I spent my PhD in a spine biomechanics lab studying how discs degenerate and behave mechanically. After studying the biomechanical underpinnings of the spine, it became clear to me that most of the advice that people get for back pain is generic and often incorrect. Effective rehabilitation requires identification of pain patterns and a matching plan.
A flexion intolerant pattern and an extension sensitive phenotype require different approaches. But most programs treat them the exact same, further provoking pain and delaying progress.
Back Again starts by identifying your pattern. Then it builds a program that matches it. The assessment uses validated questionnaires from the clinical research literature. The plans are structured around evidence-based principles compiled by me.
How the assessment works
The assessment uses the same validated clinical tools found in published studies and clinical settings. Four steps, each with a specific purpose.
Validated questionnaires
The RMDQ (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire) measures how your back pain affects daily activities. The Back-PAQ (Back Pain Attitudes Questionnaire) captures beliefs and fears about pain, because what you believe about your pain changes how you recover [Darlow et al., 2014].
Structured history
A detailed intake captures your movement patterns, daily activities, and relevant context. This is the information a clinician would ask in a first appointment, structured so nothing gets missed.
Phenotype classification
Your responses are classified into one of six biomechanical phenotypes based on how your spine responds to specific movements and loads. These aren’t arbitrary labels. They’re based on movement-pattern research from the clinical literature.
Matched program
Each phenotype gets a structured rehab program built around the movements, progressions, and education that the evidence supports for that specific pattern. A flexion-sensitive spine and an extension-sensitive spine need different approaches.
Your back pain has a pattern. The right plan starts by identifying it.
Dr. Mitch Whittal’s peer-reviewed publications
The biomechanical properties of porcine intervertebral disc tissue treated with different fixation solutions
2025Journal of the Mechanical Behaviour of Biomedical Materials
Mechanical age-related differences in the human cadaveric annulus fibrosus
2025Journal of the Mechanical Behaviour of Biomedical Materials
Does Annulus Fibrosus Lamellar Adhesion Testing Require Preconditioning?
2025Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
An investigation of the mechanism of adjacent segment disease in a porcine spine model
2025Clinical Biomechanics
TAK-242 treatment and its effect on mechanical properties and gene expression associated with IVD degeneration in SPARC-null mice
2022European Spine Journal
Mechanical Consequence of Induced Intervertebral Disc Degeneration in the SPARC-Null Mouse
2021Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
High Load With Lower Repetitions vs. Low Load With Higher Repetitions: The Impact on Asymmetry in Weight Distribution During Deadlifting
2020Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
Recognised by the field
Best Special Poster Award
Milan, 2024
Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS-D)
Doctoral, 2021
Medal for Academic Excellence
Top Master’s student, 2020
Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS-M)
Master’s, 2019
Joan Heimbecker Award
Highest GPA, Kinesiology graduating class, 2018
What I commit to
Back Again is built on four commitments. They're the reason this can exist as a research-backed product instead of another internet promise.
Coaching, not a clinic
Back Again gives you a structured plan built using evidence-based principles compiled by Mitch. Back Again does not diagnose, and does not replace hands-on medical care for those with red-flag symptoms.
Red flags get flagged
If your assessment surfaces anything that should be reviewed by a clinician, your report tells you so directly and recommends in-person care.
No guaranteed cures
Recovery from back pain isn’t a straight line and nobody can promise you a fix. What you get is an evidence-based plan, plain language, and someone who will be honest with you about what’s known and what isn’t.
Find the path forward.
Structured rehab programs and educational materials for back pain.
See the programs