Latest articles
Fresh healthcare insights
Effective workplace perks that actually deliver return on investment
Conversations about workplace perks often start with the same examples: gym discounts, free snacks, or ping pong tables. But in 2025, benefits leaders are under pressure to move beyond surface-level offerings and invest in perks that drive real business value. The best workplace perks improve employee health, retention, equity, and productivity. They create a measurable return on investment, not just a feel-good moment. In this article, we’ll explore evidence-backed workplace perks that actually improve workforce performance. Then we’ll dive into how Sword Health stands out as a next-generation health benefit built to increase engagement, eliminate pain, and unlock business performance.
August 13, 2025 • 9 min read
Sword Editorial Team
Building an employee health insurance benefits plan
This guide breaks down what the ideal health insurance package looks like today, what to include, and how to offer health insurance benefits your employees will actually use. We also uncover some specific options that market-leading companies are using to save millions with preventive care. Health insurance benefits are the foundation of an effective employee benefits package. This component of your offering can make or break a hire. The best candidates are actively seeking a strong health insurance plan with robust coverage and a variety of care options. For many organizations, benefits plans can be costly on paper, underused in practice, and a point of confusion instead of value.
July 25, 2025 • 12 min read
Sword Editorial Team
Cardio and mental health: why movement is medicine
From improved mood to lower blood pressure, cardiovascular activity, commonly called “cardio,” has far-reaching benefits for both body and mind. But perhaps most surprising is how profoundly cardio supports mental health. Through the lens of neuroscience, psychology, and practical lived experience, the science is clear: aerobic exercise is one of the most effective tools we have for improving emotional regulation, cognition, sleep, and resilience. And the best part? It doesn’t take hours. Even a walk around the block helps.
July 25, 2025 • 5 min read
Morgan Hollis
How preventive health care delivers long-term benefits costs savings
Employer healthcare spend keeps climbing, yet most companies still focus their efforts where costs hit last: at the point of surgery, crisis, or chronic claims. What if a huge chunk of this spend could be avoided? Much of what drains your healthcare budget is entirely preventable. Smart insurers and employers don’t just consider preventive health care an add-on for your benefits plan. It’s the strongest lever to contain costs and keep a member population more healthy, present, and productive. This article breaks down why preventative healthcare works, where most companies fall short, and how you can implement some specific solutions to sustainably reduce your overall healthcare spend.
July 25, 2025 • 11 min read
Morgan Hollis
Startup employee benefits plans: How to compete for talent on a lean budget
Every founder, CFO, or HR lead in a startup knows the balancing act. You need people who are resilient, driven, and good enough to build something from nothing. But you also know you can’t always match the salaries or stock packages that bigger, well-funded players throw around like confetti. When budgets are tight, too many early-stage leaders see benefits as the first line item to cut or delay. The problem is, that approach costs you twice: you often spend more replacing burned-out high performers seeking stronger packages elsewhere, and you weaken the offering for new candidates who might expect an attractive benefits offering to make up for lower financial compensation.
July 24, 2025 • 15 min read
Sword Editorial Team
GLP-1 and lean mass loss: why you need movement to retain muscle
GLP-1 medications are having a strong and fast impact. Patients are losing weight and in the short term, results are positive. These medications work effectively to promote fast weight loss by curbing appetite, slowing gastric emptying, and improving glycemic control. The possibility of delivering these outcomes without stimulants or surgery represents a significant step forward for obesity treatment. However, employers and insurers need to make sure that GLP-1 drug usage is supported by regular physical activity over a longer time horizon to protect against longer term risk factors. One clinically significant issue in particular often goes unnoticed.
July 24, 2025 • 12 min read
Morgan Hollis
Affordable healthcare options for employers (that still deliver results)
Healthcare costs continue to rise, squeezing HR budgets while employees expect more support than ever. Many employers feel stuck between doing the right thing for their workforce and controlling costs that spiral year after year. When budgets are tight, the temptation is to cut corners, squeeze premiums, or add cheaper vendors. But “cheaper” health benefits often cost more in the long run. This guide gives you specific implementation advice that will reduce your overall cost base AND improve the health outcomes of your employees. Benefits managers are dealing with a situation that feels like they’re paying more while their employees get less in terms of healthcare outcomes.
July 24, 2025 • 10 min read
Sword Editorial Team
Low impact activities: the easy way to boost your physical and mental health
When you think of exercise, you might picture sweat-dripping, heart-pounding workouts. But the most transformative type of movement? It’s often slower, quieter, and much gentler on your body. Low impact activities are exercises that reduce stress on your joints and muscles, making them ideal for people managing chronic pain, recovering from injury, or simply looking to stay active without overdoing it. They’re also deeply supportive of your mental well-being, helping ease anxiety and boost energy. This type of low intensity movement is also easier to sustain. No sprinting or pressure on the joints. Just movement that anyone can add to their day-to-day routine.
July 22, 2025 • 8 min read
Morgan Hollis
Sword Move: stay strong, stay moving, skip the pain
Sword Move is designed to help you build strength, lose weight, and prevent injury, all from the comfort of home. Maybe your back tightens up after long hours at your desk. Maybe your knees feel stiff when you’re chasing after the kids. Or maybe you’ve just fallen out of your movement routine, and you’re not sure how to restart safely. Sword Move was built to help you tackle that pain for good and give you a simple regular movement plan to prevent future flare-ups.
July 18, 2025 • 6 min read
Sword Editorial Team
Thrive digital physical therapy: Sword Health’s approach to smarter care
Pain has a way of taking over. It shows up in your routines, your workday, your sleep. It makes you move differently or stop moving altogether. And the longer it lingers, the harder it is to know what to do next. You shouldn't have to put up with it, even if it's too hard to access traditional physical therapy. Sword’s Thrive is for the people who can't schedule a 9-5 appointment and travel to a busy clinic appointment during normal working hours. For the people who’ve been told to wait it out. For the ones who’ve sat through appointments, bounced between referrals, or started physical therapy only to feel forgotten. Thrive gives you a better path.
May 16, 2025 • 5 min read
Sword Editorial Team
Sword's guide to managing MSK pain
Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain can make everyday tasks feel like uphill battles. Whether it's bending down to pick up a child, sitting through a workday, or simply getting a good night’s rest, MSK pain touches nearly every aspect of life. If you're here, you might be one of the millions looking not just for information, but for real solutions that work. You’re not alone and you don’t have to settle for treatments that leave you frustrated or stuck. Thankfully, modern care models are evolving. Sword Health is pioneering a virtual-first, clinically guided approach that empowers people living with MSK pain to recover from the comfort of home. This is your guide to understanding MSK pain, exploring your treatment options, and learning why digital physical therapy might be exactly what your body and your life need right now.
May 15, 2025 • 7 min read
Megan Hill
The benefits of at-home physical therapy
Over the past decade, healthcare has experienced a meaningful shift. Patients no longer need to wait weeks for appointments, spend hours commuting to clinics, or rearrange their lives to receive expert care. One of the most transformative changes has taken place in musculoskeletal (MSK) care. The rise of at-home digital physical therapy gives people everywhere easier access to expert care with the flexibility to complete their recovery at a time that suits their schedule. This new digital delivery model of care means patients don't need to confront the barriers of traditional in-clinic physical therapy. They can avoid the challenge of scheduling appointments in office hours, racing across town to a busy location, or waiting for a referral and delaying their recovery.
May 15, 2025 • 12 min read
Sword Health Innovation 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
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
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 ·
