There’s more to your back pain than your scan is telling you
Most chronic back pain isn’t just structural. It’s driven by a nervous system that’s learned to protect you — even when it no longer needs to. This programme helps you understand what’s really happening, and retrain your brain to let go of pain that’s outlasted its purpose, at a pace that's right for you.
Evidence-based. Fully personalised. Delivered to you.
No commitment. No credit card. Begin with a free personalised profile.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
You’ve done everything right.
Your back still hurts.
You’ve seen the GP. You’ve had the scans. You’ve been told about the disc, the wear and tear, the degeneration. You’ve tried physiotherapy, painkillers, maybe injections. Some things helped for a while. Nothing lasted.
And so you’ve adapted. You’ve stopped doing things you used to love. You’ve learned which movements to avoid, which positions to brace for, which days are likely to be bad. You’ve built your life around the pain — and somewhere along the way, you started to wonder if this is just how things are now.
It isn’t. But the reason it hasn’t improved isn’t what you’ve been told.
“It’s just part of getting older.”
Most people with significant age-related changes on their scans live completely pain-free. Age explains the scan. It doesn’t explain the pain.
“The scan shows damage, so it must hurt.”
Up to 40% of people with disc herniations on MRI have no pain at all. Structural findings and pain experience are far less connected than you’ve been told.
“Rest is the only thing that helps.”
Short-term rest makes sense. Long-term avoidance teaches your nervous system that movement is dangerous — making pain worse, not better.
“Stronger painkillers are the answer.”
Medication manages the signal. It doesn’t change what’s generating it. For chronic pain driven by nervous system sensitivity, the source matters more than the symptom.
“If it still hurts, something is broken.”
Persistent pain is not evidence of ongoing damage. It’s evidence of a nervous system that has learned to stay on high alert. The alarm is real. The fire it’s warning about may not be.
“There’s nothing more that can be done.”
The neuroscience says otherwise. Understanding and retraining the nervous system produces measurable, lasting change — even in long-standing chronic pain.
THE MISSING PIECE
Your pain is real. But it may not be coming from where you think.
Here’s something that surprises most people: pain is not produced in your back. It’s produced by your brain.
That’s not a philosophical point. It’s basic neuroscience — and it changes everything about why some pain persists long after the body has healed.
When pain persists for months or years, it’s often because the nervous system has learned to be overprotective. It’s running a threat response that made complete sense once — but no longer reflects what’s actually happening in your body.
For some, there are structural findings — a disc, some degeneration, wear and tear. For others, scans show nothing remarkable at all. In both cases, the nervous system component of pain is real, present, and addressable. And that matters enormously — because it means there’s something you can actually do about it.
Neuroplastic by design
Pain pathways in the brain are not fixed. With the right input, they can be retrained — not just managed.
Safety signals change everything
When your nervous system learns that you’re safe, the threat response quietens. Pain reduces not because the body changed — but because the brain updated its assessment.
Evidence, not belief
You don’t need to believe this will work before you begin. The neuroscience is peer-reviewed and the approach is grounded in clinical research. You are joining this to learn something that you do not yet know.
You don’t need to believe this will work before you begin. The neuroscience is peer-reviewed and the approach is grounded in clinical research. You are joining this to learn something that you do not yet know.
THE PROGRAMME
A personalised recovery journey
built around you, not a generic protocol.
01
Assess
Detailed intake forms build your personalised profile — driving everything you receive from tone and pace to metaphors and focus.
02
Understand
Six daily education modules written specifically for you. The neuroscience of your pain, in language that fits how you think.
03
Retrain
A daily check-in selects the right guided audio session for your current state — regulation, flare support, or sensory observation.
04
Sustain
Every week, a fully personalised audio session based on your actual week — not a template, something written just for you.
The evidence
Backed by a decade of research
Pain neuroscience education and nervous system retraining are among the most promising advances in chronic pain research.
66%
of chronic back pain patients were pain-free or nearly so after Pain Reprocessing Therapy — vs 10% with standard care.
Ashar et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2022
1 year
gains were largely maintained at one-year follow-up — not a short-term fix.
Ashar et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2022
3x
more effective than standard care in producing pain-free outcomes in the same trial.
(66% vs 20% placebo, 10% usual care)
Peer-reviewed
Published in JAMA Psychiatry — one of the highest impact medical journals in the world.
Who it’s for
Made for persistent pain that won’t let go
This is for you if…
You’ve had back pain for more than 3 months
You’ve tried conventional treatments without lasting results
Your pain varies — better on holiday, worse under stress, unpredictable day to day
You want to understand what’s actually driving it — not just manage it
You’re sceptical but open — you don’t need to believe this will work before you begin
Your pain is inconsistent — it varies in intensity, location, or character in ways that don’t always make obvious sense
It may not be for you if…
Your pain began very recently and hasn’t yet been assessed medically
You have symptoms that still need investigation — our pre-screening will flag these
You’re looking for a passive treatment — this programme requires your participation
Your pain has a clear active cause currently being treated by a specialist
You’re unable to commit around 15-20 minutes each day — this programme works through consistent daily engagement, not occasional use
Not sure? Start free — complete your personalised profile at no cost or commitment and see how it feels.
who built this
Built by a clinician.
Refined by a hypnotherapist.
Powered by AI.
Reverse Chronic Pain was built by two brothers.
David Vrettos is a Sports Rehabilitation specialist with over 20 years of clinical experience. His special interest has always been chronic pain — the cases that don’t fit neatly into a diagnosis, where the scan doesn’t explain the suffering, and where conventional treatment has reached its limits. Over two decades of working with people in persistent pain, one thing became clear: the missing piece is almost never structural. It’s the nervous system.
Alex Vrettos is an award winning clinical hypnotherapist whose work sits at the intersection of the mind, the body, and behaviour change. His expertise in how language, suggestion, and guided experience can reshape deeply held patterns is encoded into every session the programme delivers.
Together, they built something neither had seen before — a recovery programme that genuinely knows who you are, responds to how you’re actually doing, and gets more personal the longer you use it.
The technology — the personalisation engine, the daily adaptation, the weekly audio sessions — is powered by Claude, Anthropic’s AI system, operating within a clinical framework designed and supervised by the programme’s human team.
Clinical Foundation
Built on peer-reviewed pain neuroscience and the Pain Reprocessing Therapy framework developed at the University of Colorado.
Human Oversight
Every element of this programme — from clinical safety screening to audio content — is designed and supervised by qualified practitioners.
Genuinely Personalised
No two users receive the same programme. Every piece of content is generated specifically for you, from your profile to your weekly audio session.
Pricing
Choose how you want to recover
Start free today. Upgrade any time. Cancel whenever you like.
Discover (Free)
£0
No cost. No commitment. Just a clearer picture of your pain.
Personalised pain profile
Breathing foundations session
Education module 1
Start for free
Recover
£29
/month
The full programme - personalised education and daily guided practice.
Everything in 'Discover'
Full personalised education programme (modules 1-6)
Daily check-in & response
Personalised session recommendations
Audio session library
Start for free
Reverse
Most popular
£49
/month
Everything you need, plus a weekly session written just for you.
Everything in 'Recover'
Plus personalised audio version of all 6 education modules
Weekly personalised audio session
Professionally recorded - listen as many times as you need
Start for free
Thrive
£149
/month
The most intensive level of personalisation.
Everything in 'Reverse'
Daily session written specifically for that day’s check-in — never a repeat
Adapts to your pain level, mood, sleep, and what you share each day
The highest level of personalisation available
Start for free
All paid plans are monthly rolling subscriptions. Cancel anytime. No long-term commitment required.
FAQ
Is this a replacement for medical treatment?
How long until I notice a difference?
How is this different from other pain apps or programmes?
What if it doesn’t help me?
Is my data safe?
Do I need to believe this will work before I start?
How much time does it take each day?
What if I have other health conditions?
Will this work if I have a structural diagnosis?
READY TO BEGIN?
Ready to understand your pain differently?
Take the first step in minutes. No card required, no obligation — just a clearer, calmer path forward.