Managing Musculoskeletal Pain in Older Adults Through a Digital Care Solution: Secondary Analysis of a Prospective Clinical Study.

The study had no control group, so it cannot show that the program alone caused the changes. The program combined exercise, education, and cognitive behavioral therapy, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. It enrolled beneficiaries of employer health plans, so it may not represent older adults in the United States for whom Medicare is the major insurance payer. Older adults were 6% of the 12,082 people who started the program. There was no long-term follow-up, so long-term benefits were not assessed. Participants had to be able to do at least 20 minutes of light to moderate exercise and had no ongoing cancer treatment or signs of serious pathology. Education level was used as a proxy for digital literacy, which may not fully capture technology comfort. Several authors were employees or equity holders of the program sponsor.

The study was sponsored by Sword Health. Several authors were employees of Sword Health, some held equity, and the chief executive officer was an author. Another author received an adviser honorarium from Sword Health.

Do not conclude that the digital program caused the pain and function improvements. The study had no control group. Do not assume it works for all older adults; participants had to be able to exercise and were recruited through employer health plans.