Social Networking Mobile App for Injured Athletes
Overview
About Sidelined
Sidelined is a social media support platform founded by a father-son duo. Inspired by a personal journey through a career-threatening ACL injury, the founders know firsthand how isolating athletic injuries can be. The early-stage startup aims to provide resources and a digital community that bridges the gap between physical rehabilitation and mental well-being.
Services
Their Challenge
For many athletes, a physical injury often leads to a loss of purpose and community, which in turn can lead to mental health struggles. When an athlete is sidelined, they are frequently separated from their teammates and the daily rhythms of their sport, leading to profound feelings of isolation and depression. The founders wanted to create a place where injured athletes could access support and resources while navigating the nuances of long-term sports recovery.
Our Solution
Saritasa collaborated with Sidelined to architect and develop a comprehensive hybrid mobile application for iOS and Android. Our team focused on creating a social ecosystem where users match with content and communities based on their specific sport, injury, and recovery stage. Our team delivered a high-performance app that includes direct messaging, verified medical expert roles, and dynamic engagement feeds. The result is a specialized social media platform that empowers athletes to move from isolation to connection, ensuring they have the resources needed to return to the game stronger.
Our Approach
What Saritasa Did
Collaborative Product Design
We started the project with an extensive, collaborative design phase to map out every user workflow and screen in Figma before writing a single line of code. Using this detailed roadmap, we finalized all product decisions early, which enabled more accurate estimates and fewer changes during development.
React Native Development
We built the hybrid mobile application using React Native, allowing for a single codebase to serve both iOS and Android users. This efficiency enabled our team to focus more resources on polishing core social features, such as media-rich posting, user blocking, and secure account management, without the cost of dual-native development.
Attribute Matching Algorithm
Our engineers developed a custom filtering system that tags posts with specific attributes: sport, injury type, and affected body part. This powers a “For You” feed that automatically surfaces relevant recovery stories and professional medical advice, ensuring users see the content most applicable to their unique rehabilitation journey.
Twilio Integration
We integrated Twilio for secure direct messaging and SMS verification. This allows athletes to chat privately with peers or consult with verified medical providers and trainers directly within the app’s secure environment.
Multiple User Types
Users can register as athletes, coaches, or medical professionals. By tailoring the user experience based on these roles, the platform effectively bridges the gap between social connection and professional rehabilitation resources.
