About BackUnbroken

BackUnbroken is an online recovery program for chronic lower back pain, built on the neuroscience of how the nervous system keeps pain going. It was founded by Dr. Nate Feehrer, a Doctor of Physical Therapy with a B.S. in Neuroscience who lived through four years of back pain and sciatica from an L4-L5 disc herniation. In about 15 minutes a day, from home, it takes you through three phases: Reframe, Rewire, and Restore.

Since 2022, BackUnbroken has helped 3,000+ people break the pain cycle.

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Meet Dr. Nate Feehrer, PT, DPT

His own four years of back pain

Nate herniated his L4-L5 disc in high school, and for four years after that he was in pain every single day, with sciatica on top of the back pain. He couldn't play the sports he loved, couldn't sit through a class without shifting every couple of minutes, and some days couldn't tie his shoes or brush his teeth without his back locking up.

He tried stretching, foam rolling, massage, cracking his back, physical therapy, pain meds, and rest. Some of it helped for a day or two. None of it stuck. For a long time he felt like his body just wasn't built right.

The turning point

It came in college. Nate was sitting in the back of a neuroscience class, barely paying attention because his back was killing him, when his professor explained that chronic pain, the kind that lasts months or years, has a lot to do with the nervous system.

When you get hurt, your nervous system lowers its threshold for pain so your body can protect the injury. That's normal. But when pain doesn't resolve quickly, that threshold can stay low even after the tissue has healed, and your brain and body get stuck in over-protection mode.

That was the missing piece for Nate. Once he fully understood it, everything changed, because you can't stretch or massage your way out of a nervous system problem. You have to address it directly. That idea became the foundation of BackUnbroken.

Why he built BackUnbroken

BackUnbroken is a combination of my education in neuroscience and physical therapy: the solution I wish I had during my own 4-year fight with lower back pain. This is more than a program. It's my mission and my life's work, and I believe it can change your life the way it changed mine.

Nate's background

• Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
• B.S. in Neuroscience
• Licensed physical therapist in Massachusetts, practicing since 2022. BackUnbroken is separate from his clinical practice.

What Nate writes about

Chronic lower back pain, sciatica, herniated and bulging discs, how stress affects back pain, pain neuroscience, and calming an overprotective nervous system. Articles on the BackUnbroken blog carry his byline and list the research behind them.

Start with these two:

• My MRI Shows a Herniated Disc. Can My Back Pain Still Be the Nervous System?
• Can Stress Cause Lower Back Pain? A Physical Therapist Explains

Meet the coaches

Nate isn't doing this alone. Members get support from a small team of real people, not bots or AI, who know what chronic back pain feels like and what it takes to get out of it.

You can ask the coaches questions anytime in the BackUnbroken Community.

Our approach and why it's different

Long-term back pain plays by different rules

A fresh injury and pain that has lasted for years are not the same problem. After months or years, pain often stops being only about a muscle or a disc. Your nervous system gets better at producing pain. It turns the alarm up, guards your back, and starts treating normal movement as dangerous, even after the tissue has healed.

That's why stretching, painkillers, massage, and adjustments often bring relief that doesn't last. They work on the body. The nervous system that keeps the alarm on gets left out.

Your pain is 100% real. It is not "in your head." Every pain you have ever felt was produced by your brain and nervous system, and that's also why it can change.

What BackUnbroken does differently

BackUnbroken works on both sides at once: calming an overprotective nervous system and rebuilding strength and confidence in your body. You'll use:

• Pain neuroscience education, so you understand that pain doesn't always mean damage
• Breathwork and relaxation, to bring your nervous system out of protect mode
• Graded exposure to movement, slowly and safely bringing back the positions and activities your brain has been guarding against
• Strength and confidence building, so normal life stops feeling like a threat

How it compares to Dr. Sarno, TMS, and pain reprocessing therapy

BackUnbroken is built on similar science to Dr. John Sarno's work, TMS, and pain reprocessing therapy, but it is its own approach. Many of those methods focus on explaining how the mind and emotions affect pain in the body. BackUnbroken goes a step further, with actionable techniques you practice every day. The goal isn't just to understand why your pain is there. It's to retrain your nervous system and actually get out of pain.

Read more: The Real Cause (and Solution) of Chronic Back Pain

The three phases

1. Reframe: learn exactly why your pain has stuck around, so a scary MRI report, a stressful week, or a flare-up stops feeling like a sign of damage.
2. Rewire: use guided techniques like breathwork, relaxation, and gentle exposure to retrain your nervous system to stop overreacting to normal movement and sensation.
3. Restore: build real strength and confidence with movement progressions that meet you where you are, so you can move, lift, and live without fear of flare-ups.

Each day is about 15 minutes: a short video lesson, guided practice, and daily movement. You start with education before any movement begins. When you're ready, movement is added gently, and every step is under your control.

Who BackUnbroken is for

BackUnbroken was built for chronic back pain, especially pain that has hung around long after it "should" have healed. Chronic lower back pain is what we see most. Members also come to us with:

• Sciatica
• Herniated or bulging discs
• Spinal stenosis
• SI joint pain
• Poor posture or anterior pelvic tilt

It's a good fit if you've tried stretching, PT, chiropractic care, or massage and the relief keeps fading, if your pain changes with stress, sleep, or mood, or if you find yourself bracing before you bend.

Not sure? Take the free assessment. It takes less than 2 minutes.

Who it's not for, and when to see a doctor first

BackUnbroken is an online educational program. It is not physical therapy in a clinic, and it doesn't replace medical advice. Before assuming your pain is mostly nervous system related, get checked by a doctor to rule out anything serious, especially if your pain is new, severe, or not improving.

Go to an emergency department or call emergency services right away if you have back pain with any of these:

• Numbness or tingling between your inner thighs, around your genitals, or around your bottom
• New trouble starting, stopping, or controlling your urine, or loss of bowel control
• Weakness or numbness in both legs that is severe or getting worse
• Pain that started after a major trauma, like a car accident or a bad fall
• Chest pain

Also see a doctor if you've lost weight without trying, your pain is worse at night or doesn't ease with rest, there's a lump or swelling in your back, or you feel hot, shivery, or unwell along with your back pain.

In most cases you can do BackUnbroken alongside other workouts or physical therapy. Talk to your provider before making any treatment decision.

What's included

• Guided daily lessons, about 15 minutes, done from home
• A step-by-step roadmap through Reframe, Rewire, and Restore
• Direct access to Dr. Nate and the BackUnbroken coaches in the community
• Weekly live calls with Dr. Nate Feehrer, DPT
• No equipment needed
• The BackUnbroken app on the App Store and Google Play, or log in on your computer at www.backunbroken.com

Pricing and trial

Start with a 5-day free trial with full access. Cancel anytime during the trial and you won't be charged. If you stay, it's $99 per month (USD), with no contracts. Cancel anytime from Manage Account on the website, in the app, or by emailing [email protected]. There's also a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Get started

Ready to see what's possible for your back?

Want to look around first?

• Take the free assessment (less than 2 minutes)
• Read member stories
• Read the FAQs
• My MRI Shows a Herniated Disc. Can My Back Pain Still Be the Nervous System?
• Can Stress Cause Lower Back Pain? A Physical Therapist Explains

Questions? Email [email protected]. We answer every message personally.