ComeBack Mobility | Ilya Popov
An episode of the MedTech Jam Session with Chris and Mike D podcast, hosted by Mike Donoghue and Chris Lyons, titled "ComeBack Mobility | Ilya Popov" was published on February 19, 2026 and runs 30 minutes.
February 19, 2026 ·30m · MedTech Jam Session with Chris and Mike D
Summary
What happens when a professional fighter, who is also a startup CEO, is told to put "25% of his body weight" on a recovering limb, but isn't given the tools to measure it? He builds a MedTech company. In this episode, Mike and Chris sit down with Ilya Popov, founder of ComeBack Mobility. Ilya shares his remarkable journey from being a tech CEO to a professional kickboxer in Thailand to solving one of orthopedics' most frustrating challenges: patient weight-bearing compliance. ComeBack Mobility's device attaches to the bottom of any cane or crutch, calculating the exact load a patient is putting on their injured leg and providing real-time feedback. In this episode, we cover The Weight-Bearing Guesswork: Why standard protocols like "toe-touch" or "50% weight-bearing" are historically based on ease of explanation rather than validated clinical trials. The NYU Langone experience: Groundbreaking data showing the ComeBack Mobility device achieved 74% patient step compliance, compared to just 20% in the standard of care group.Expediting Bone Healing: How optimized, iterative loading can accelerate tibial fracture healing to 6-8 weeks instead of the standard 10-11 weeks. To learn more about ComeBack Mobility, visit comebackmobility.com
Episode Description
What happens when a professional fighter, who is also a startup CEO, is told to put "25% of his body weight" on a recovering limb, but isn't given the tools to measure it? He builds a MedTech company. In this episode, Mike and Chris sit down with Ilya Popov, founder of ComeBack Mobility. Ilya shares his remarkable journey from being a tech CEO to a professional kickboxer in Thailand to solving one of orthopedics' most frustrating challenges: patient weight-bearing compliance. ComeBack Mobility's device attaches to the bottom of any cane or crutch, calculating the exact load a patient is putting on their injured leg and providing real-time feedback. In this episode, we cover
- The Weight-Bearing Guesswork: Why standard protocols like "toe-touch" or "50% weight-bearing" are historically based on ease of explanation rather than validated clinical trials.
- The NYU Langone experience: Groundbreaking data showing the ComeBack Mobility device achieved 74% patient step compliance, compared to just 20% in the standard of care group.
- Expediting Bone Healing: How optimized, iterative loading can accelerate tibial fracture healing to 6-8 weeks instead of the standard 10-11 weeks.
To learn more about ComeBack Mobility, visit comebackmobility.com
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