Evidence-Based Chronic Pain Rehabilitation

You've tried the physio.
The injections. Maybe surgery.
You're still in pain.

There's often a specific, identifiable factor. And it's not what most treatment plans address. Find out what's actually driving yours — free, in 2 minutes.

Find what's driving my pain → Read how this works first

✓Free assessment  ✓2 minutes  ✓No payment details

Central Sensitisationnervous system
Fear-Avoidancemovement & fear
Structural / Mechanicalload & capacity
Inflammatoryimmune-driven

4 of the 10 patterns the assessment screens for

106clients coached to date
30–50%avg. pain reduction at 4 weeks

Self-reported, 0–10 scale, measured at intake and again at week four — based on Fortis's actual client base to date. Real tracked data, not a projection.

Free Pain Pattern Assessment

Find out exactly what's driving your pain — before you read anything else.

12 questions. 3 minutes. Get your specific pattern from 10 clinically distinct profiles, plus the exact mechanisms keeping it stuck.

✓ 2,000+ assessments taken ✓ No payment details ✓ Personally reviewed by Sam, the founder
The thing nobody told you

Your pain is real. It's just not coming from where you think.

When pain lasts longer than tissue takes to heal, something else is often driving it. There's strong evidence that when pain persists beyond normal healing, factors beyond ongoing tissue damage often contribute to the experience of pain — but most treatment hasn't caught up to it yet.

This framing fits many chronic pain presentations well, but not all — with a diagnosed structural or inflammatory condition (e.g. EDS, CRPS, inflammatory arthritis), a different mechanism is likely driving your pain, and your assessment will reflect that.

52%
of pain-free people have disc bulges
Structural findings on MRI are present in over half of people with zero back pain. The scan rarely explains the pain.
Jensen et al., NEJM 1994
3mo
is when pain changes mechanism
Past the healing window, the nervous system itself becomes the driver — not the original injury. This is central sensitisation.
Woolf, PAIN 2011
1 night
of poor sleep lowers your threshold
Disrupted sleep measurably increases pain sensitivity and inflammatory markers within 24 hours. Most plans ignore it entirely.
Irwin et al., Sleep 2016
Why nothing has worked

You've been treating the wrong thing — through no fault of your own.

Here's the cycle that keeps chronic pain stuck. Standard treatment targets step one. The problem lives in steps two through four.

1

An initial injury or trigger

Something real started it — a disc, a strain, a nerve. This is what every scan looks for and what every treatment targets. But tissue heals in weeks to months.

2

The nervous system stays on alert

When pain persists, your nervous system turns up its sensitivity to protect you. The alarm system itself becomes the problem — generating pain without ongoing damage.

3

Stress, sleep and fear amplify it

Poor sleep lowers your threshold. Stress keeps the alarm on. Avoiding movement teaches your brain that movement is dangerous. The cycle reinforces itself daily.

4

Passive treatment can't break it

Massage, injections, and rest target tissue that has already healed. Without addressing the maintaining factors, relief from passive treatment often doesn't last.

How it works

One connected path — not five separate decisions.

1
Assessment
Free · 2 minutes
→
2
Your Pattern
One of 10 profiles
→
3
Personalised Report
£97 · one-time
→
4
Weekly Coaching
Optional · £500/mo
→
5
Recovery
Getting your life back
Who this is for

You'll recognise yourself in one of these.

01

The athlete who lost their identity

You trained seriously. Pain took it. You've lost muscle, confidence, and part of who you are — you're grieving the person you were.

This is me →
02

The one who's tried everything

Physios. Specialists. Scans showing "nothing serious." Treatments that help for a week, then fade. You're starting to wonder if anyone actually knows what's wrong.

This is me →
03

The one stuck in the cycle

Pain wrecks your sleep. Bad sleep worsens the pain. Stress makes both worse. You can feel the cycle but can't find the way out alone.

This is me →
Who's behind Fortis

I'm Sam den Hertog. And I'll be straight with you.

Sam den Hertog, founder of Fortis Clinic

Founder, Fortis Clinic

Fortis Clinic is new. I'm not going to show you a wall of testimonials I don't have yet, or pretend I've treated thousands of people. You'd see through it, and you'd be right to.

What I have is a deep, obsessive understanding of pain science — the mechanisms behind why chronic pain persists and what actually changes it. The approach isn't my opinion. It's built on the same research the best pain clinics use, applied with more attention than most overstretched clinics can give.

I take on a small number of cases at a time, deliberately — only people I'm confident I can help. My reputation is built one outcome at a time, and I can't afford to get yours wrong.

If I don't believe I can help you, I'll tell you, and you'll get your deposit back. That's not a marketing line. At this stage it's the only way I'd want to build this.

What you actually get

This is what £500/month buys. Specifically.

Not an app. Not a PDF. A continuously managed recovery programme built around your case.

01

Full case analysis

Your history, mechanism, and maintaining factors mapped before anything else happens. You'll understand your pain better in week one than you have in years — the foundation everything else builds on.

02

Personalised programme

Graded exposure, movement progressions, sleep protocol, and stress regulation — built for your pattern, your life, your starting point. Not a template.

03

Weekly adjustment

Your programme adapts as your nervous system does. What you do in week six won't look like week one — because you won't be the same.

04

Direct access

Flare-up at 9pm? Question before a session? You message me directly. No portals, no 3-week waits, no gatekeeping.

05

Pain science education

Understanding the mechanism is itself an intervention — the evidence on this is clear. You'll learn exactly what's happening and why the plan works.

06

Progress tracking

Pain, function, sleep, and capacity tracked week over week. You'll see the trend — and so will I, which is how the programme stays ahead of you.

Free Pain Pattern Assessment

What's actually driving your chronic pain?

12 questions. 3 minutes. You'll get your specific pain pattern from 10 clinically distinct profiles — plus the exact mechanisms maintaining it.

2,000+assessments taken
2 minto complete
Freeno card needed
✓ No payment details ✓ Instant results ✓ Tailored to your pattern
What it costs

The path: assessment, then a report, then — if you want it — coaching.

Nothing is bundled. Each step is a separate decision, and every step before the monthly coaching is fully refundable.

Step 1 · Free
£0
The 2-minute pain pattern assessment. Your specific pattern, instantly — no card required.
Step 2 · One-time
£97
Your personalised 4-week report, built from your assessment. In your inbox within the hour.
Step 3 · Optional
£500/mo
1:1 coaching, if you want direct support after the report. £500 refundable deposit → £500 refundable activation → £500/month. Capped at 5 clients at a time.

Coaching: UK & Ireland pricing. US & Canada: $750/month. Cancel anytime.

What you've likely already spent
Physio sessions (×10–20)£600–1,600
Specialist consultations£200–800
Scans and imaging£300–900
Months or years of your lifeUnpriceable
Total: thousands — without resolution
What this risks
Free assessment£0
Deposit if we proceedRefundable
If I can't help youFull refund
Monthly programmeCancel anytime
Risk to find out: nothing
Honest answers

The questions you're actually asking.

Fortis is new — I won't pretend otherwise. That means a small caseload, obsessive attention to your case, and a founder whose reputation depends on your outcome. The refundable deposit exists because I want zero risk on your side.

Fair question — you've been let down before. This approach is built on established pain neuroscience, the same research leading pain clinics use. Start with the free assessment and judge the thinking yourself before any money is involved.

Yes. After the free assessment, email me directly — I read and answer every message personally. Nothing's automated, and you'll never be pushed toward payment before your questions are answered.

I only take on cases I'm confident I can help. If I don't believe that after our conversation, I'll tell you and refund your deposit in full — I'd rather turn down a case than take money I'm not sure I can earn.

Because this isn't a generic app or PDF — it's continuous, personalised coaching with direct access, adapting as you progress. Compare it to what you've already spent on physio, specialists, and lost time without resolution. The deposit and activation are fully refundable, so you risk nothing finding out.

Absolutely not. This works alongside your medical care, not instead of it. If anything in your case needs medical investigation, flagging it is part of the process.

The free 2-minute pain pattern assessment on this page. No payment details, no commitment. You'll learn which pattern is driving your pain and exactly what does and doesn't work for it.

Still have a question?

I read and answer every message personally, usually within 24 hours.

Ask me directly →
Start here

Find out what's actually driving your pain.

Two minutes. Completely free. No payment details. You'll understand your pain better than most appointments have managed.

Take the free assessment →
Prefer to skip straight to a message? Use the form — I read and answer every one personally, usually within 24 hours.