MSK digital therapy platforms: what they are and how to choose one

Musculoskeletal conditions, including back pain, joint problems, and post-surgical rehabilitation, drive more disability worldwide than any other condition group, and digital MSK care has become one of the fastest-growing corners of health technology. But "MSK digital therapy platform" covers two very different models, and choosing the wrong one for the situation is the most common and most expensive mistake buyers make.

This guide explains the category honestly: what the platforms do, how the two models differ, and which fits which organisation.

What an MSK digital therapy platform does

At its core, every MSK digital therapy platform delivers three things remotely: assessment of a musculoskeletal problem, a structured exercise programme to treat it, and ongoing monitoring of how the person is progressing. The differences lie in who runs the care. In some models the platform itself employs the care team and sells the whole service. In others, the platform is the toolkit a clinician's own team uses to deliver their care digitally.

The two models: employer programs and clinician-led platforms

Employer and payer MSK programs, of which Hinge Health, Sword Health and Kaia Health are the best-known, sell a packaged service to employers and insurers. The member gets an app, sensor-guided exercises and access to the vendor's own care team. The buyer is an HR or benefits leader, the clinical relationship belongs to the vendor, and the value proposition is reducing claims costs across a covered population. A benefits leader looking to offer MSK support as an employee benefit is the natural fit for this model.

Clinician-led platforms, where Physitrack sits, work the other way around. The platform equips a practice's own clinicians: a library of 17,906 exercise videos, programme building, patient apps, outcome measures, secure telehealth and remote therapeutic monitoring. The clinical relationship stays with the practice, clinic network or health system. The buyer is a clinical director or practice owner, and the value proposition is delivering an organisation's own MSK care digitally, not outsourcing it.

How the models compare

Who owns the patient relationship: the vendor's care team in the employer model, versus the practice's own clinicians in the clinician-led model. Who it is sold to: employers and insurers, versus practices, clinics and health systems. Where the clinical judgement lives: in the vendor's protocols, versus in the practice's own team, supported by the platform's tools. What gets paid for: covered lives, versus practitioner licences.

Neither model is better in the abstract, since they answer different questions. "How do I offer MSK support to 10,000 employees without building a clinical team" points to an employer program. "How do my physiotherapists deliver digital MSK care to their own patients" points to a clinician-led platform.

How to choose: five questions that settle it

First, who holds the clinical relationship. A practice with its own clinicians that wants to keep care in their hands should rule out an employer program. Second, who is the buyer, benefits budget or clinical budget. Third, how configurable the care needs to be. Packaged programs standardise by design, while clinician-led platforms let a team prescribe from a full exercise library and adapt per patient.

Fourth, what monitoring needs to feed. If outcomes and adherence data must flow to a practice's own clinicians and records, the right model keeps that team in the loop, with remote therapeutic monitoring built in. Fifth, what happens at the end of the contract. With an employer program, the capability leaves with the vendor. With a clinician-led platform, the digital capability built stays owned by the practice.

Where Physitrack fits

Physitrack is a clinician-led MSK digital therapy platform used by over 110,000 clinicians worldwide. It is not an employer program and does not employ a care team, by design. Practices, MSK networks and health systems use it to run assessment, exercise prescription, telehealth consultations, patient engagement and remote monitoring under their own clinical governance.

An organisation that already delivers MSK care and wants to deliver it digitally is the fit this model was built for, and the Physitrack exercise library shows how that works in practice.

Perguntas mais frequentes 

What is an MSK digital therapy platform? An MSK digital therapy platform delivers musculoskeletal care remotely: assessment, structured exercise programmes and progress monitoring for conditions like back pain, joint problems and post-surgical rehabilitation. Two models exist: employer programs that sell a packaged service with the vendor's own care team, and clinician-led platforms such as Physitrack that equip an organisation's own clinicians to deliver digital MSK care.

What is the difference between Hinge Health or Sword Health and Physitrack? Hinge Health, Sword Health and Kaia are employer and payer MSK programs. The vendor employs the care team and sells the service to employers and insurers. Physitrack is a clinician-led platform. It provides the exercise library, patient apps, telehealth and remote monitoring tools that a practice's or health system's own clinicians use, so the clinical relationship stays with the provider.

How do I choose an MSK digital therapy platform? Decide who should hold the clinical relationship. Organisations without clinical teams that want to offer MSK support as a benefit fit an employer program. Practices, clinics and health systems that already deliver MSK care and want to deliver it digitally fit a clinician-led platform, where their own clinicians prescribe, monitor and adapt the care.