If you haven’t had lower back pain or other significant joint pain, perhaps you just haven’t lived long enough. Give it time. Lower back pain is exceedingly common among U.S. adults according to the CDC. In a 2018 survey the CDC found that overall 28.0% of men and 31.6% of women reported experiencing lower back pain just in the previous three months. We recently wrote about a Hinge Health report that found patients who followed the company’s digital musculoskeletal (MSK) care program experienced significantly less chronic back pain and disability.
Kiio, a Madison, Wisconsin-based digital MSK therapy development firm, is another front runner in helping people manage and prevent joint pain. Kiio recently expanded its MSK therapeutic programs, adding programs to prevent or treat knee, neck, and hip pain to their existing lower back pain program. Patients download Kiio programs to their mobile devices. The Kiio apps are convenient and easy to use, the company states. No more waiting for an initial appointment with a physical therapist, sharing equipment, or figuring out how to use complicated equipment.
Kiio Care Path Optimization is an evaluation that screens patients to develop therapeutic programs that are appropriate for their problems and their pain levels. Kiio uses AI to adapt patients’ personalized exercise programs based on patient feedback. The app monitors progress and moves patients along as they improve. Kiio CEO Lydia Zeller said patients can begin their first custom therapy within seven minutes of answering the screening questions and downloading the app.
According to Kiio, more than 60% of its patients report lower pain within one week of beginning the program. In four longitudinal studies of medical claims data, Kiio clients spent 43% to 72% less on medical care and had up to 87% lower opioid use than average. Lower costs and drug use are major wins for digital therapy patients can complete at home.
