For the half of U.S. workers who suffer from a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition, surgeries have become an all-too-common solution — one to which both employees and their employers are looking for more affordable, low-impact alternatives.
New data from digital therapy platform Sword Health reveals that 36% of MSK-related surgeries are not necessary, and offering a more impactful alternative to “low value care” — medical interventions that do not offer a real benefit to patients — can help prevent these expensive, more invasive procedures. Should employees instead be able to find relief for their MSK conditions through methods such as physical therapy, they, employers and health plans stand to save at least $90 billion per year, according to Sword’s research.
