In Rovaniemi, where world-class athletes train under the northern lights, Comeback Center is redefining how recovery meets performance. Blending elite sports physiotherapy with everyday rehabilitation, the Finnish center brings Olympic-level expertise to everyone — from professionals chasing podiums to workers striving for lifelong health. Now, through the I3-INSHAPE project, Comeback Center is merging science, technology, and experience to pioneer smarter, neurocognitive-driven rehabilitation methods that could reshape the future of recovery. This time, we have interviewed Tanja Poutiainen-Rinne, CEO of the company.
Tanja, can you introduce us to Comeback Center?
Comeback Center provides comprehensive rehabilitation for sports injuries and related conditions. We serve people of all ages in Rovaniemi and throughout the whole Lapland region. Our professionals are experienced physiotherapists and coaching experts. Within our team, we have backgrounds in top–level sports, both as athletes and as national team physiotherapists. We understand the demands of top-level sports and are fully equipped to support athletes aiming for the world stage. At the same time, our expertise is equally available to everyday people, and a significant part of our work involves helping the working-age population maintain their health and ability to stay active in both their professional and everyday lives. We work as a team, and one of our most important goals in rehabilitation is to prevent future injuries from occurring.
This is our motto: “World-class sports expertise for everyone – from elite athletes to everyday people, helping you to recover, perform and stay healthy“.
What kind of solutions or services does Comeback Center offer? How do you stand out in the market?
Comeback Center combines top-level sports expertise with everyday rehabilitation. Our top professionals assess and identify potential imbalances and asymmetries in the body, and based on this evaluation, create a tailored training program. We also offer supportive treatments such as manual therapy, acupuncture and, when needed, Askel Aid orthotic insoles. We are also innovative and continuously develop our services by utilizing technology in both assessment and training guidance. Technology enables us to stay in contact with our clients and provides a motivating way to integrate gamified elements into rehabilitation, always based on scientific evidence.
What type of solution are you and your SME partner, Embedded Fitness, developing together in the framework of the I3-INSHAPE project?
Together with Embedded Fitness, we are developing an application for ACL rehabilitation that integrates skill training and neurocognitive rehabilitation. According to the latest research, neurocognitive aspects are often overlooked in ACL rehabilitation, which increases the risk of reinjury. By combining Embedded Fitness’s reaction lights (hardware) with the application (software) and adding our physiotherapy expertise and the latest scientific evidence, we are creating an innovative solution that addresses this critical need. We design the rehabilitation exercises, and Embedded Fitness transforms them into a user-friendly format within the application.
What tangible impact does the I3-INSHAPE project have on your project idea, from the development to market access?
We have been pursuing internationalisation for quite some time, but the I3-INSHAPE project accelerated our development work andthe opening of networks abroad. Through the project, we also gained valuable collaboration opportunities with other experts, such as Lapland University of Applied Sciences and other project partners. In addition, we can further refine our work through sparring with another university partner. We are also developing our operations using technology, and the project has significantly accelerated this progress.
Why do you think initiatives like I3-INSHAPE and its innovation hubs are essential for the future of sport and vitality in Europe?
For us, I3-INSHAPE has, above all, enabled collaboration with a foreign company, something that might not have happened without the project. The project creates valuable networking opportunities and facilitates the start of collaboration. In addition, it helps us establish a foothold and gain visibility in another country, which supports our future goal of attracting customers from that market.
What are your expectations for the future within the I3-INSHAPE project?
During the I3-INSHAPE project, our goal is to make the most of the expertise, advice, and feedback offered by the partners: resources that would not be as widely available without the project. At the same time, we are striving to open doors across different parts of Europe.
What’s one key takeaway you’d like people to remember about INSHAPE?
The most important benefit of I3-INSHAPE for us is that it has accelerated innovation and opened international collaboration opportunities that would not have been possible otherwise. It has connected us with new partners, provided access to valuable expertise and feedback and created visibility abroad – helping us build a foundation for future international growth.
Learn More on their website 🌐 https://comebackfysio.fi/en/