Latest articles
Fresh healthcare insights
Thrive digital physical therapy: Sword Health’s approach to smarter care
Living with pain? Sword Thrive combines AI-powered guidance with Doctors of Physical Therapy to help you recover from home. Check if you’re eligible today.
May 16, 2025
Sword Editorial Team
Sword's guide to managing MSK pain
Struggling with MSK pain? Discover how digital physical therapy can help you feel better, faster, from the comfort of home.
May 15, 2025
Megan Hill
The benefits of at-home physical therapy
Discover how digital physical therapy brings expert-guided, at-home care to your fingertips. See if you're eligible today.
May 15, 2025
Sword Health Innovation Team
What is physical therapy?
Learn what physical therapy is, how it helps relieve pain, and how to get started in-person or digitally. See if you're eligible through Sword Health.
May 9, 2025
Megan Hill
Orthopedic physical therapy: What it is and how it helps you heal
How orthopedic physical therapy helps with joint and muscle pain, surgical recovery, and mobility, plus check your eligibility for digital PT.
May 9, 2025
Megan Hill
The Best Surgery is No Surgery. With Sword Predict, That’s Now Possible.
Avoid unnecessary surgeries and cut MSK costs with Sword Predict — AI-powered triage that identifies and engages high-risk members early.
May 1, 2025
Sword Editorial Team
Movement and Mental Health: The Science Behind It
Did you know that moving your body can strengthen the mind?
September 20, 2024
Sword Editorial Team
Study confirms efficacy of AI care model
See how AI care expanded access and maintained clinical quality at scale. Review key outcomes, study design, and what it means for equitable MSK care.
August 20, 2024
Sword Editorial Team
Productivity study
New study: Sword saves $2,900 per member yearly. See how MSK care that improves function also boosts productivity and reduces absenteeism.
June 25, 2024
Sword Editorial Team
RSC study
Sneak peak at a new study by Risk Strategies Consulting that found Sword Health clients save $3,177 annually per member on MSK and related health services.
June 25, 2024
Sword Editorial Team
Meet Phoenix, the world's first AI care specialist
Meet Phoenix, AI care paired with clinical oversight that extends access, personalizes support, and sets a new standard for digital therapy.
June 4, 2024
Sword Editorial Team
The Power of Mindful Walking
Learn to improve mental health with mindful walking.
May 23, 2024
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 ·
