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Back Pain Apps Compared by What They Do

Search for a back pain app and the results look alike. They do different jobs. Some teach pain psychology, some come through your employer or health plan with a physical therapist attached, some are general rehab libraries, and some are stretching or yoga. Pick the job first.

I built one of the apps below, Low Back Pain Coach, so read this page with that bias in mind. For every other app I read its public website or store listing on September 25, 2026 and kept only what those pages say. They are linked under Sources. Prices and features change, so check again before you pay.

Pain psychology: Curable

Curable's program targets the brain's role in chronic pain. Its App Store listing describes more than 100 exercises (CBT, meditation, expressive writing, somatic tracking), audio lessons on pain science, a virtual guide called Clara, and live Q&As and workshops with mind-body experts. Some resources are free. Its website lists the annual plan at $15.99 a month billed annually, with 50% off the first year for first-time subscribers, a 14-day free trial, and a 30-day money-back guarantee on website and Google Play purchases. The listing describes no strength training. The Curable comparison goes into more detail.

Through an employer or health plan: Hinge Health, Sword Health, Kaia Health

These three reach most people through an employer or insurer, and each store listing describes a clinician or coach in the loop.

• Hinge Health offers a personalized care plan with guided exercise and a care team that includes physical therapists and orthopedic doctors. The listing says it is available at no cost to members through more than 2,800 employers and health plans.
• Sword Health's Thrive program pairs guided sessions that use motion tracking with a Doctor of Physical Therapy who designs and adjusts your plan. The listing says it is available at no cost through thousands of employers and health plans.
• Kaia Health offers 10 to 15 minute exercise sessions and a human health coach, with programs written by its in-house physical therapists. The listing says it is free to covered members and not currently available on a self-pay basis. Kaia's website says the company has joined Sword Health.

If one of these is covered for you, it adds a person watching your plan, which none of the self-pay apps on this page include. Ask your HR team or insurer what is included and how your data is shared.

A general rehab library: Injurymap

Injurymap covers back pain along with the neck, shoulders, hips, knees, and other areas, with more than 350 video exercises, and its listing says it adjusts your program as you go. Through selected health insurance plans it also offers online sessions with a physiotherapist. The US App Store listing shows a two-week free trial, then $9.49 a month or $40.99 a year. A library that covers several body areas suits someone with more than one problem, and the back program is one program among many.

Stretching and yoga: Bend and Down Dog

Bend builds daily stretching and mobility routines. Down Dog generates a new yoga practice each session and lets you focus on body areas, backbends among them. Neither listing describes a progressive strength program for the back. Mobility and strength are separate jobs, and the floor versus bench comparison covers why I track them separately.

One bench progression: Low Back Pain Coach

This is mine. It runs one method, a four-stage back-extension progression on a 45-degree bench (holds, partial reps, full reps, then weighted reps). Each session is set from your recent workouts and your pain logs compared with your own baseline, and pain logged in the legs stops the extension work. A spoken voice counts holds, reps, and rest. It also has a pain log with graphs, a flare-up mode, 10 short lessons on how persistent pain works, and a PDF report you can hand a clinician.

The program needs the bench. Floor work covers the time until you have one, and the program is not written for a vertical 90-degree Roman chair. It is a free download with one free guided first session. After that it costs $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year, renewing until you cancel, each with a 7-day free trial for eligible new subscribers. It runs on iPhone and Android.

It is the wrong app if you have not been assessed, want variety, want a clinician watching your plan, or have anything on the red flags list. Curable goes much deeper into pain psychology than my 10 lessons do.

How to choose

• If anything on the red flags list applies, get care first: emergency care now for the emergency signs, a clinician today for the others. If you have never been assessed, see a clinician before you start.
• If your employer or insurer covers Hinge Health, Sword Health, or Kaia, find out what it includes before you pay for anything.
• If fear or stress drives most of your pain, a pain psychology app fits that job.
• If several body parts hurt, a general rehab library covers more ground.
• If one stubborn lower back is the problem and you are cleared to train, pick a single progression and run it from a notebook or an app.

Whatever you try, test the feature you need during the trial and set a reminder before it renews. The app cost guide has a longer checklist.

The app