Sword adds wrist therapy to expand virtual MSK care

Sword Health to relieve pandemic-induced Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by adding wrist therapy to its virtual musculoskeletal care solution.

The innovation will make Sword Health the first sensor-based virtual musculoskeletal care (MSK) provider to treat wrist conditions.

Complaints of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and other wrist conditions are on the rise since people bolted from their ergonomically-designed workspaces earlier this year. Up to 25 percent of workers are affected by the condition: 10-20 percent of manual workers and 5-21 percent of information workers.

In response, Sword Health, a leading virtual MSK care provider, is expanding their suite of treatments to include a remotely-delivered program for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other common wrist conditions. The new treatment will give Sword Health clients the ability to treat up to 53 percent more of their eligible employees and members than other sensor-based digital MSK solutions.

"Wrist conditions were already debilitating for workers before the pandemic. Now the issue is more urgent, and access to safe, effective care is more limited,” said Virgílio Bento, Chief Executive Officer of Sword Health. “This groundbreaking new therapy will not only massively reduce costs for employers and health plans. It will help people live healthier, more productive lives.”

Treatments for wrist conditions are currently limited to surgeries and specialist rehabilitation programs, costing the healthcare system more than $2 billion annually. Untreated, these conditions can have a serious impact on productivity: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is responsible for the highest number of lost workdays among all work-related injuries.

Sword Health’s wrist therapy program will allow its members to relieve Carpal Tunnel and other wrist conditions without surgery or imaging.

The solution extends Sword Health’s clinical-grade virtual MSK care program, which provides non-invasive relief for chronic and post-surgical conditions of the lower back, shoulder, neck, knee, elbow, hip, ankle and lungs through therapeutic exercise, education, behavioral coaching and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The programs are delivered by licensed Doctors of Physical Therapy and have proven to be more effective than the gold standard of in-person care. Sword Health’s wrist therapy program will be available December 1, 2020 to U.S. employers and health plans. The company’s full virtual musculoskeletal care program is currently available to U.S. employers and health plans.

For more information and to enroll, visit initiatives.swordhealth.com/wrist-relief.

About Sword Health

Sword Health is a digital musculoskeletal (MSK) care provider on a mission to free two billion people from chronic and post-surgical pain. The company's clinical-grade digital therapy platform pairs expert physical therapists with FDA-listed wearable technology to deliver a personalized treatment plan that is more effective, easier and less expensive than the traditional gold standard of care. Sword Health believes in the power of people to recover at home, without resorting to imaging, surgeries or opioids. Since launching in 2015, Sword Health has worked with insurers, health systems and employers in the U.S., Europe and Australia to make quality physical therapy more accessible to everyone.