Latest articles
Fresh healthcare insights
How to reduce and prevent joint pain in menopause
Discover why menopause affects your joints and how movement, nutrition, and Bloom’s personalized care plans can all help you to stay active and comfortable.
October 20, 2025
Sword Editorial Team
Frequent urination in menopause: causes and prevention
Learn why menopause can cause frequent urination and how Bloom helps women strengthen bladder control to regain confidence and control.
October 20, 2025
Liz Santo
Postmenopause cramps and when to get help
Learn why cramps can occur after menopause, when to seek medical advice, and how Bloom helps women improve comfort and prevent pelvic floor problems.
October 20, 2025
Sword Editorial Team
Stomach problems in menopause: Gentle ways to ease pain
Learn what causes cramps during perimenopause, how to manage discomfort safely, and how pelvic care with Bloom can support your comfort and confidence.
October 20, 2025
Liz Santo
Joint pain in perimenopause
Learn how hormones influence joint and muscle pain during perimenopause, and what you can do to move comfortably and confidently again.
October 20, 2025
Jennesa Atherton
How employers can improve support for postmenopausal health
Learn how employers can deliver stronger postmenopausal health support programs and retain elite female leaders for longer.
October 17, 2025
Sword Editorial Team
How early intervention physical therapy delivers huge savings
Discover how early intervention physical therapy prevents surgeries, lowers claims, and improves ROI for benefits and health plans.
October 16, 2025
Sword Editorial Team
What is the Sword Bloom Pod?
Learn how the Bloom Pod works how it helps to manage pelvic pain. We explain safety, setup, and how you can recover from home.
October 16, 2025
Liz Santo
What is the Sword Move wearable?
See how the Sword Move wearable and the Move kit both make it easy to stay strong, lose weight, prevent pain, and build lasting movement habits.
October 16, 2025
Morgan Hollis
Meet Thrive Pad: Recovery just got smarter
Meet the Sword Thrive Pad and the Thrive Kit, the at-home tablet solution for AI pain care with real-time guidance and feedback.
October 15, 2025
Sword Editorial Team
Healthcare cost trends for 2026
Go deep on the key trends impacting healthcare costs and learn practical ways that leaders can use to control spend through proactive care and outcome-based design.
October 10, 2025
Sword Editorial Team
Expanding pelvic health therapy access
Learn how digital women’s health programs like Bloom expand pelvic health therapy access and deliver measurable ROI for employers and health plans.
October 10, 2025
Sword Editorial Team
For employers
Workplace health advice
How digital physical therapy improves employee retention
Did you know that fear of pain can be more disabling than pain itself? Chronic pain and employee turnover prevention are critically linked, but with the right MSK benefits coverage, employers can help their team members recover from pain to increase workplace productivity. Nearly 28% of people in the workplace will take leave for MSK pain over the course of a year. Patients who suffer the two most common conditions of low back and neck pain have an average return to work of 7 days. Overall, MSK conditions are responsible for 44 missed work days each year on average.
October 24, 2025 • 5 min read
Sword Editorial Team
How to evaluate and select the best digital MSK vendors
Musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders are one of the most expensive and under-addressed cost centers facing U.S. healthcare providers. MSK disorders affect 1 in 2 Americans and cost over $190 billion per year, more than heart disease, cancer, or mental health conditions. For employers and health plans, MSK claims are often among the top 3 cost drivers. And for members, chronic pain reduces quality of life, drives absenteeism, and often leads to costly downstream interventions. That’s why digital MSK solutions have surged in popularity. The promise is compelling: better access, which drives stronger engagement, delivers better outcomes, and therefore lowers overall healthcare costs.
October 24, 2025 • 6 min read
Sword Editorial Team
Reduce MSK costs with more effective digital MSK care plans
You’ve likely seen numerous digital health solutions that promise to lower medical spend. You’ve probably zeroed in on the top conditions with significant digital solutions in the marketplace: musculoskeletal (MSK), mental health, and diabetes. For most companies, prioritizing MSK care over other digital health solutions will drive the biggest benefits for your employees and your bottom line when it comes to savings. Given the multitude of vendors, platforms, and solutions available, prioritization can be a daunting task. How do you choose from among the thousands of digital health tools? What combination of condition focus and solution selection will drive the best outcomes for your population and the biggest return for your business?
October 24, 2025 • 5 min read
Sword Editorial Team
GLP-1 employer healthcare costs: lower spend with better outcomes
GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy are transforming how employers approach obesity care. Once reserved for diabetes patients, these drugs are now widely prescribed for weight loss. GLP-1 drugs do deliver on their promise of improved cardiometabolic outcomes. Simply, these medications do help users lose weight. But for health plans and employers, the real challenge goes beyond pharmacy claims. The bigger risk is in the hidden costs that accumulate over time when GLP-1 treatment is not paired with sustainable lifestyle changes. Without movement programs to protect lean muscle and build healthy habits, employers may face a second wave of musculoskeletal (MSK) claims, re-prescriptions, and long-term disability costs. GLP-1 users often don’t develop the behaviour change needed to sustain weight loss over time. Also, lean muscle mass is often lost during GLP-1 use which leaves people at increased risk of musculoskeletal (MSK) issues as a result of lower strength and stability levels.
October 23, 2025 • 8 min read
Morgan Hollis
Expert guidance
From the experts: Ask a physical therapist
Ask a PT: when is the best time to do my exercises?
Before I joined Sword Health, I worked in brick-and-mortar clinics. I never worked weekends, and rarely worked past 6 pm. My schedule was great...for me. But for my patients, it was a real challenge. Attending a physical therapy appointment might require leaving work early or slipping out at lunch. Even patients with more flexible schedules would sometimes lament about finding childcare or arranging transportation. A thirty-minute appointment could easily take an hour or even 90 minutes once travel was taken into account. When I was in a clinic, the “best” time for a patient to do their exercises was the time that worked for me, not for them. Sword's virtual model gives our members the power to do their exercises when AND where it's most convenient for them. Now that I work remotely for Sword, I’m able to help our members figure out the best time to do their exercises at home. Now, when my members ask me when they should do their exercises, I tell them - the best time is when you’ll actually do them!
February 11, 2021 • 6 min read
Megan Hill
Ask a PT: Does walking really help with pain?
If you’ve ever stood on the sidelines of a sporting event, you’ve likely witnessed many falls, trips and tackles. Whether the players are small children or professional athletes, the advice from the coach may have simply been to “walk it off.” While that is not always the best solution after an acute injury, walking can be a really effective way to manage chronic pain. Motion is lotion. Movement increases blood flow, which brings nutrients to our tissues. It also helps those that don’t have blood flow, like cartilage. Cartilage lines our joints, absorbing impact. It’s surrounded by a liquid which provides it with nutrients, flowing in and out of it like a sponge. Exercise, like walking, causes loading that fills and squeezes that sponge, particularly in the joints of our legs and spine.
August 13, 2020 • 4 min read
Megan Hill
Ask a PT: What Is Causing My Shoulder Pain?
When your shoulder hurts, it can be difficult to tell exactly what’s gone wrong. You’ve probably heard of pinched nerves and rotator cuff tears. Perhaps you’ve also heard about shoulders being ‘impinged’ or ‘frozen.’ It’s not easy to keep these various shoulder conditions straight, especially when they all cause similar pain symptoms. The first step towards fixing a problem is identifying it. This article, written by a team of Doctors of Physical Therapy, is designed to help you figure out what’s causing your shoulder pain — so you can begin the process of healing it. We will dive into the five most common causes of shoulder pain and how to differentiate them. Cervical refers to the neck, and radiculopathy is pain that radiates to another body part. Hence, cervical radiculopathy: a pinched nerve in the neck, which can cause radiating pain affecting the shoulder. It occurs when the cervical spine becomes damaged due to sudden injury or degeneration over time, and squeezes or puts pressure on a nearby nerve.
November 1, 2023 • 6 min read
Megan Hill
Healthcare contributors
Meet Sword's expert authors
Vijay Yanamadala
Chief Medical Officer at Sword Health
Fernando Correia
SVP Clinical & Regulatory Affairs at Sword Health
Megan Hill
Director, Clinical Specialists
Morgan Hollis
Head of Clinical Strategy, Sword Move
Jennesa Atherton
Head of Clinical Affairs, Sword Bloom
Liz Santo
Senior Clinical Program Manager, Sword Bloom ·
