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Fresh healthcare insights
Menopause and work: Addressing the unspoken barrier to productivity
Menopause affects half the workforce¹, yet it remains largely unspoken in corporate America. Hot flashes, brain fog, sleep disruptions, pelvic discomfort. These aren’t minor inconveniences. They’re real symptoms that derail productivity, confidence, and even careers². For many women, menopause hits during peak leadership years. Without adequate support, they are more likely to miss work, struggle to maintain productivity, or even leave their roles entirely³. Most benefits strategies overlook this reality. That silence costs women their health and costs companies their top performers.
August 27, 2025 • 10 min read
Jennesa Atherton
Solving for urinary incontinence without surgery or shame
Urinary incontinence (UI) is one of the most common yet underreported health challenges facing women today¹. The condition is too often cloaked in stigma and silence. Women should feel confident and empowered to seek health without any judgement, especially as the condition is so common. The harrowing impact of UI quietly disrupts lives, undermines workplace performance, and inflates healthcare costs². Resolving this issue can deliver genuinely life-changing improvements for women suffering with UI, and the financial imperative for employers and health insurance providers is significant³. Thankfully, urinary incontinence treatment and recovery is possible without surgery. This guide will uncover what urinary incontinence is, the underlying causes, and the wide-ranging impacts on women, businesses, and healthcare plans. You’ll learn about proven, non-surgical treatment methods and how digital solutions are reshaping access to effective pelvic health management. Urinary incontinence is defined as the involuntary leakage of urine. It ranges from occasional small leaks triggered by coughing or sneezing, known as stress incontinence, to more frequent and unpredictable urgency incontinence⁵.
August 27, 2025 • 14 min read
Jennesa Atherton
Pelvic floor therapy: what every HR leader should know
Most benefit leaders never see pelvic floor therapy on a renewal worksheet. Yet bladder leaks, pelvic pain, and organ prolapse affect one in three women and up to half of all post-menopausal employees.¹ ² Women wait an average of 6.5 years before asking for help.³ During that gap they often lose sleep, skip key meetings, and, in severe cases, are even forced to walk away from promising careers. Ignoring the problem costs money. Claims for specialist visits and surgery can top $30,000 per case.⁴ Presenteeism drives hidden loss that finance teams rarely capture. Employers that hope to retain female talent need a plan, not a pad stipend. Pelvic floor therapy is the ideal addition to any benefits plan to better support women in the workplace to be able to bring their best self to their job.
August 27, 2025 • 6 min read
Jennesa Atherton
Employer’s guide to pelvic health benefits
Almost no one talks about pelvic health at work, yet its impact quietly shows up on every health plan balance sheet. From missed meetings to rising surgery claims, conditions like urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, and prolapse drain billions in productivity and medical spend each year.¹ Still, most benefit plans have limited specific offerings in this area. That gap is increasingly expensive as women now represent nearly half the labor force. Forward-thinking employers and benefits plan managers are shifting course and turning pelvic health from an oversight to a top healthcare priority. This change is overdue, and now there are discrete and scalable solutions available to help women eradicate pelvic pain and manage pelvic health conditions from home.
August 27, 2025 • 10 min read
Sword Editorial Team
Reverse inactivity and slash MSK costs with Sword Move's 3:1 ROI
Validation Institute Certified Study Methodology demonstrates how Sword Health’s Move program improves health, lowers costs, and drives ROI for employers and health plans. MSK is the #1 healthcare cost in the US1. Specifically, musculoskeletal pain is the root cause of this significant driver on the balance sheets of employer health plans.
August 26, 2025 • 10 min read
Morgan Hollis, MS, RDN
GLP-1 muscle loss: the hidden cost of weight loss without movement
Early indications show the drugs are helping patients lose weight. But as more research and analysis is collected, concern around GLP-1 muscle loss is building. While GLP-1s promote fast weight loss, the type of weight lost matters. Clinical research shows that up to 39% of lean body mass is lost during GLP-1 usage. Lean muscle loss from GLP-1 use presents an invisible but dangerous risk, for health insurers and patients alike. Lean muscle loss isn’t cosmetic. This has serious implications for physical health, mobility, long-term function, and cost exposure. For health plan administrators sarcopenia muscle loss adds nearly $900 in excess healthcare costs per employee annually. Lean muscle is essential. Lose it, and you compromise strength, movement, and future health.
August 22, 2025 • 14 min read
Morgan Hollis, MS, RDN
Boosting weight loss program ROI with structured movement plans
For health insurers and employers, GLP-1 medications like semaglutide have changed the game in obesity care. These treatments offer a way to reduce chronic disease risk, lower metabolic claims, and trigger weight loss.₁ GLP-1s are more commonly known under brand names like Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda, Mounjaro, and Rybelsus. These medications deliver striking short-term results, but without physical activity support, GLP-1 patients often revert back to old habits.₃ That can drive unintended clinical and financial consequences. From lean muscle loss and metabolic rebound to re-prescription cycles and downstream MSK claims, a pattern is emerging that undercuts long-term ROI.⁴ GLP-1 programs need to be supported with structured activity and nutrition guidance to protect sustainable outcomes.
August 21, 2025 • 10 min read
Sword Editorial Team
How to prevent muscle loss during weight loss
Weight loss programs often celebrate the number on the scale. But when that number drops without context, something important can get lost. That something is muscle. While the goal may be to reduce fat, many weight loss strategies, especially those driven by medication or calorie restriction, also cause lean muscle loss. This isn’t just a side effect, it’s a long-term health risk. Muscle isn’t just about strength or appearance. It’s a critical part of your metabolic system, your functional ability, and your protection against injury. Losing it during weight loss can lead to fatigue, weakness, chronic pain, and mobility challenges, even if the pounds come off. And the risk isn’t theoretical. Clinical research shows that up to 39% of lean muscle mass is lost during GLP-1 medication usage¹. Muscle loss is linked to increased fatigue, a higher risk of falls, MSK conditions, and costly downstream care. For employers and health plans, this muscle loss can drive up musculoskeletal (MSK) costs in the form of chronic pain claims, fall injuries, and rising disability rates. For individuals, it can mean regaining weight, losing mobility, and feeling worse than when the journey started. Understanding this hidden risk is the first step. Next, let’s explore why muscle matters and how to protect it.
August 21, 2025 • 8 min read
Morgan Hollis, MS, RDN
GLP-1 cost savings strategies: How movement boosts ROI
GLP-1s offer big promise. But also big costs. GLP-1 medications have reshaped obesity care. Their rapid rise has been fueled by strong clinical results, enthusiastic providers, and increasing demand from patients and executive sponsors. These medications often deliver meaningful short-term weight loss. But they can also carry a significant financial burden for employers and health plans. GLP-1s can cost up to $10,000 per member annually¹. For self-insured employers and payers with large member populations, these costs scale quickly. Industry analysts now estimate that GLP-1 medications may account for up to 9% of total healthcare spending for some plans².
August 20, 2025 • 8 min read
Morgan Hollis, MS, RDN
GLP-1 side effect management: prevent muscle loss and slash MSK costs
GLP-1 medications have transformed the landscape of obesity care. For benefits leaders and health plans, they offer a rare promise: a clinically proven intervention that can deliver meaningful weight loss across at-risk populations. But that weight loss comes at a hidden cost. A cost that doesn’t show up on prescription data. This cost does show up in MSK claims, though Up to 39% of lean muscle mass is lost during GLP-1 usage₁.
August 20, 2025 • 11 min read
Morgan Hollis, MS, RDN
Weight loss drugs and muscle loss: MSK risks to avoid
Weight loss drugs are rewriting the obesity care playbook. GLP-1s like semaglutide, liraglutide, and others are helping members lose weight, improve metabolic markers, and avoid high-risk interventions like surgery. Many employers and health plans have fast-tracked these medications into formularies as a cornerstone of chronic condition management. But there’s one effect that most treatment programs overlook and it’s not related to fat loss. It’s about muscle loss. Clinical data shows up to 39% of lean body mass is lost during GLP-1 usage.¹ Muscle loss is linked to increased fatigue, a higher risk of falls, MSK conditions, and costly downstream care.
August 20, 2025 • 11 min read
Morgan Hollis, MS, RDN
Semaglutide and muscle loss: what health plans need to know
Semaglutide has transformed the obesity treatment landscape. Originally approved as a diabetes drug, it’s now among the most widely prescribed GLP-1 medications for weight management, often more commonly known by brand names like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus. With outcomes that include 10%–15% total body weight loss and improved cardiometabolic markers¹, it’s no surprise health plans are rapidly expanding coverage. Semaglutide offers a powerful new lever to address obesity-related costs and long-term risk. But there’s a less visible side effect emerging in the data, one that could undermine outcomes, increase musculoskeletal (MSK) costs, and reduce ROI for health plans:
August 20, 2025 • 10 min read
Morgan Hollis, MS, RDN
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 • 6 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
Tackling the #1 driver of employers’ health costs: MSK
The phrase ‘musculoskeletal disorder’ may not ring a bell — but the feeling might. The term refers to any type of pain in the muscles or joints, from chronic pain to injuries to post-surgical pain. Many of us have suffered from a musculoskeletal (MSK) issue at some point in our lives. In fact, one in two Americans is struggling with an MSK condition right now. And it’s causing economic ripples, especially in the workplace.
January 20, 2020 • 6 min read
Sword Editorial Team
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, PT, DPT
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 • 5 min read
Megan Hill, PT, DPT
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, PT, DPT
Healthcare contributors
Meet Sword's expert authors
Dr. Vijay Yanamadala, MD, MBA, FAANS
Chief Medical Officer at Sword Health
Dr. Fernando Correia, M.D.
SVP Clinical & Regulatory Affairs at Sword Health
Megan Hill, PT, DPT
Director, Clinical Specialists
Morgan Hollis, MS, RDN
Head of Clinical Strategy, Sword Move
Jennesa Atherton
Head of Clinical Affairs, Sword Bloom
Liz Santo
Senior Clinical Program Manager, Sword Bloom ·
