Back Pain Program.

Back pain was one of the most frequent and costly health problems we saw at Alan. And a major driver of sick leave for our customers.  I led the product from 0→1, with the goal of building a digital care path people could actually stick with.

What started as a simple diagnosis and daily-content MVP progressively evolved it into a digital physiotherapy care path combining personalized exercises, professional support and long-term self-management.

  • DISCOVERY
  • PRODUCT STRATEGY
  • UX/UI
  • CONTENT PRODUCTION
  • TESTING
  • MEDICAL HIRING
  • MEDICAL COLLABORATION
  • PRODUCT DELIVERY
  • SCALING
  • Back pain program home: “Free yourself from pain” hero with the physio card and a Get my diagnosis action, above the exercise library.
  • Pain rating question: “How would you rate your pain over the past few days?” with the “ow oww owww” dial and a Validate action.
  • Physio hand-off screen: “Reduce your pain eight times faster with a physio” with a free appointment booking action.
  • Onboarding intro with the Alan bear mascot: “Customize your program by answering some questions”, followed by the three steps.
  • Exercise player intro for “The Quasimodo”, with a sound prompt and a Skip intro action.
  • Program detail listing exercises built by the physio, with duration, type and equipment for each movement.
  • Exercise step view with the video demonstration, steps one to five and a “Get into position” cue.
  • Day 1 completed screen with the progress path and a “How do you feel after this session?” feedback slider.
  • Exercise library filtered by Neck, listing the Upside-Down Angel, Crawl, Turtle, Square, Panther and Flying Dog exercises.

+20k

ORGANIC USERS IN FRANCE

87%

SATISFACTION RATE

4

COUNTRIES

01 — SCOPING

Pain is common. Following-up is harder.

Access alone is not enough

Giving people exercises is not solving the problem if they don't understand what is relevant to their condition.

“"When I go to PT, I want explanations to understand my problem and methods I can use myself to relieve my back pain"”

Recovery is not one-shot

Back pain isn't solved through one interaction. Adherence is a real challenge.

“Most of the time physical activity gets lost in their daily routine”

Clinical rigor can create friction

Healthcare naturally pushes toward completeness: more questions, more explanation, more safeguards. But every additional step also makes care hard to follow.

“If I feel overwhelmed by the therapy content, I lose confidence in my therapist and reduce the practice of PT suggestions”

02 — THE FIRST PRODUCT BET

The MVP focused only on two things.

Diagnosis

Understand enough about the user's pain and context to personalize the experience.

Daily guidance

Give users structured, actionable content to help relieve pain and build better habits.

Could we create a digital experience people would actually follow for their back pain?

Three Alan back-pain app screens: pain-area diagnosis, a guided exercise, and a completed session with physiotherapist feedback
03 — HOW THE PRODUCT EVOLVED

From MVP to care path

01

From clinically comprehensive to actionable

WHAT WE LEARNED

Our first version was highly structured: educational content, multiple steps, guided experience. It assumed an “ideal patient” who had time and motivation to read everything before acting.

WHAT WE CHANGED

We simplified the daily experience: fewer steps, exercises coming sooner, less theory before action. We reduced the drop-off rate dramatically.

02

From static content to a program that adapts

WHAT WE LEARNED

A static sequence of content could get someone started, but it wasn't enough to sustain a longer care journey. Engagement declined after the first week of program.

WHAT WE CHANGED

We progressively invested in dynamic programs with sessions of exercises and  feedback after sessions. Users could choose at onboarding how long per day they would like to practise exercises 

03

From digital content to digital care

WHAT WE LEARNED

Some needs could not be solved by another article or exercise. Users also needed reassurance, expertise and accountability.

WHAT CHANGED

We added healthcare-professional touchpoints through physiotherapist teleconsultations, chat and stronger medical involvement in product decisions. I worked closely with health professionals on the care model and pushed to hire a dedicated physiotherapist referent.

04

From guided care to autonomy

THE GOAL

After defining success by the diagnosis completion rate and the program completion and satisfaction rate, we asked ourselves the hard questions: are we optimizing for program retention or for autonomy and long-term health?

WHAT CHANGED

We redefined success, looking mainly at adherence over time and self-reported improvement. We eventually added an offboarding experience and a reusable toolkit of exercises and resources.

Alan exercise library screen showing guided back-pain exercises such as The Upside-Down Angel and The Crawl