Early stage · New Zealand

Recovery doesn't stop when the pain does.

RehabPath is a behavioural coaching platform that keeps patients engaged with their physiotherapy programme — through the critical window when motivation fades and adherence fails.

Find your adherence type → Get support building it →
Recovery timeline — where the behaviour gap opens
Week 1Week 4Week 8Week 12
Pain
Healing
Adherence

↑ Illustrative pacing. Adherence tends to drop at the same point pain eases (~week 4) — but healing isn't complete until ~week 10. RehabPath operates in that gap.

The problem

The behaviour gap is costing patients their recovery

Research consistently shows that patients don't fail rehab because they don't understand it. They fail because motivation collapses the moment pain subsides — long before the body is actually healed.

47%
of patients show rapid adherence decline once pain reduces — dropping from 7.7 to 4.2 out of 10 by week 22, well before structural recovery is complete
Dobson et al. (2018), adherence trajectory analysis · Clinical Rheumatology
92%
of patients begin with moderate-to-high adherence — the problem isn't starting, it's sustaining motivation past the point where pain reduces but recovery isn't complete
Dobson et al. (2018), adherence trajectory analysis · Clinical Rheumatology
66 days
average time for a new behaviour to become automatic — most rehab programmes end before this threshold, leaving patients without an established exercise habit
Lally et al. (2010), habit formation study · European Journal of Social Psychology
How it works

Behaviour change, not just reminders

RehabPath combines a patient-facing app with a behavioural messaging engine that adapts to each person — surfacing the right motivation at the right moment across their entire recovery arc.

🏥

Physio initiates onboarding

When a claim is lodged, the physio sends a secure invite link. The patient completes a short onboarding profile — building their behavioural baseline from day one.

🧠

The engine adapts to the patient

RehabPath's behavioural engine tracks response signals across daily check-ins, adapting its messaging strategy to each patient's self-efficacy, pain stage, and dropout risk.

📊

Physios see what's happening

The physio dashboard surfaces adherence patterns and behavioural signals between appointments — making the clinical relationship continuous, not appointment-dependent.

Where this stands right now

This is the model RehabPath is built toward. The current pilot works differently: we're recruiting a small number of patients directly, without a physio referral in the loop, to generate real adherence data first. That data is what makes the physio-led model above worth building next. If you're a physio and want to see the results as they come in, get in touch.

Who it's for

Physio-first by design. Built on patient-generated evidence.

RehabPath sits at the intersection of two urgent needs — clinicians who want their patients to actually recover, and a funding system under pressure to reduce claims costs. The long-term product is built for physios; the evidence to support that conversation is being built with patients first.

Physiotherapists

Your patients keep doing the work. Between appointments.

RehabPath extends your clinical impact beyond the clinic door — giving you visibility into patient behaviour and giving patients the nudge they need when you're not there.

  • Adherence data between appointments
  • Early dropout risk signals
  • Low-friction patient onboarding
  • Complements your programme — doesn't replace it

We're currently building the evidence base with a direct patient pilot, ahead of asking for practice referrals — happy to share results as they come in.

Free tool for your practice

The Practice Adherence Scorecard takes 5 minutes and gives you a structured picture of where your adherence gaps are — and what they're costing you.

Take the Adherence Scorecard →
ACC & Funders

Better outcomes. Fewer sessions. Lower long-term cost.

Improved adherence means patients recover more completely, return to independence faster, and are less likely to re-present. RehabPath directly addresses the self-management and digital tool recommendations from the 2025 Sapere market review.

  • Reduces avoidable follow-up sessions
  • Supports the ACC active recovery mandate
  • Scalable per-claim model aligned with existing funding structures
  • Evidence-based behavioural methodology
Perspectives

The ideas behind the platform

Long-form pieces on rehabilitation adherence, behaviour change, and what the research says about why patients stop — and how to change that.

ACC & funding

ACC's 2026/27 Turnaround Plan

What ACC's own numbers tell MSK providers — and why "identify at-risk clients earlier" is the line worth sitting with.

Read → Behaviour change

The Behaviour Gap

Why rehabilitation fails after the pain goes away — and what we're getting wrong about patient adherence.

Read → Clinical insight

Why Your Patient Stopped

The structural reasons patients disengage from home exercise programmes — and why it's not about motivation.

Read → ACC & funding

ACC Data & Transparency

What ACC's published data tells us about physiotherapy claim patterns — and the opportunity it reveals.

Read →
CR
Chris Revans
Founder, RehabPath
Product Manager · East Auckland, NZ
  • B.A. (Hons) Sports Studies — West Sussex Institute of Higher Education
  • Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO I)
  • 7+ years building digital products across telco, logistics and commerce
  • Interests: exercise adherence, behaviour change, windsurfing, football
Why I built this

I studied sports science, spent years playing football and windsurfing, and thought I understood my body well enough to manage an injury. I was wrong.

In April 2025 I was invited to a friend's football training session. Within ten minutes I'd re-aggravated an old knee injury. I started ACC-funded physio treatment. I did the exercises when I was in pain. When the pain eased, I stopped — the way most people do, because the signal that tells you something is wrong had gone quiet.

In June 2025, while still under ACC-funded physio treatment, I played football with my son. I ruptured my ACL and required surgery.

I wasn't ignorant about rehab. I had the exercises. I had a physio. What I didn't have was anything to bridge the gap between appointments — no accountability, no context for why I still needed to do the work when I felt fine, and nothing to catch me when my motivation dropped at exactly the wrong moment.

That's what RehabPath is. Not an app trying to sell you something. A system designed to do the one thing that wasn't there when I needed it.

Old history
Pre-existing knee injury — managed, but not fully resolved
April 2025
Re-aggravated knee injury at a friend's football training session. Started ACC-funded physio treatment.
June 2025
ACL rupture — surgery required. Still under ACC physio at the time. Pain had eased. Programme had drifted. Classic dropout window.
2026
Building RehabPath — starting with a small proof-of-concept cohort in New Zealand.

I'm a product manager by profession, not a clinician. RehabPath is grounded in peer-reviewed research on motivational strategies in rehabilitation — and tested with real people, in real recovery, from the start.

Get in touch

Want to help? Here's exactly what's involved.

If you're a patient: one WhatsApp message a day for 14 days, a quick emoji check-in, and a short feedback conversation at the end. That's it. Nothing to buy, no follow-up pitch, no catch.

If you're a physio, or work at ACC or PNZ — I'd genuinely welcome a conversation about whether this is useful.

Thanks — we'll be in touch shortly.
Every step forward counts.
Evidence base

RehabPath's behavioural methodology is grounded in Bandura's self-efficacy model (1997) and informed by peer-reviewed research including Fernandes et al. (2023), Health Professionals' Motivational Strategies to Enhance Adherence in the Rehabilitation of People with Lower Limb Fractures, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health; Dobson et al. (2018), Exercise adherence in clinical populations, Clinical Rheumatology; and Lally et al. (2010), How are habits formed, European Journal of Social Psychology. Market context draws on the Sapere Physiotherapy Services Market Review, independently commissioned by ACC and Physiotherapy New Zealand, December 2025. All figures above represent published research estimates, not RehabPath outcome data.