The ranking
These five applications don’t share the same access model: some go through an employer, an insurer, or your physiotherapist, others are accessible directly. That makes a big difference if you’re looking for a solution quickly.
Sword Health (AI Care)
US-Portuguese platform founded in 2015, combining motion sensor tracking (AI) and human physiotherapists. Access mainly through an employer or a partner health insurer.
Founded in 2015, Sword Health combines motion sensor tracking analyzed by artificial intelligence with human physiotherapists who supervise your program remotely. It’s present in more than 2000 companies and health insurers, mainly in the United States and the United Kingdom. Access generally goes through an employer or a partner insurer, not directly: if your organization hasn’t signed this partnership, you don’t have access.
HOPP
Program designed by FIFA-certified sports physiotherapists, personalized every day based on how you feel. Directly accessible, with no employer or insurer, at a fixed price.
HOPP is a 100% digital rehab app, directly accessible to anyone with no need for an employer, an insurer, or a prescription. Every program is designed by FIFA-certified sports physiotherapists based on your assessment, then adjusts every day according to how you feel (RPE) rather than through a motion sensor. The price is fixed and transparent, designed to support common injuries, with human follow-up throughout the program.
Hinge Health
American digital MSK clinic platform founded in 2014, with a connected motion sensor kit and remote physiotherapists. Access mainly through employers and health insurers in the United States.
Hinge Health is an American digital care platform for musculoskeletal pain, founded in 2014 in San Francisco. Members receive a kit with connected motion sensors that give real-time feedback on exercise execution, alongside support from remote physiotherapists. Like Sword Health, access goes through an employer or a partner health insurer (several thousand companies and insurers in the United States): Hinge Health isn’t designed for direct individual access, and its presence remains centered on the American market.
Kaia Health
German digital therapeutics app for back and musculoskeletal pain, founded in 2016 in Munich. Movement coaching via the phone’s camera, with no wearable sensor.
Kaia Health is a German digital therapeutics company, founded in 2016 in Munich, specialized in musculoskeletal pain (notably back pain) and COPD. Its app guides exercises through movement coaching analyzed by the phone’s camera, with no physical sensor to wear, complemented by educational content and relaxation techniques. It’s distributed mainly through employers and health insurers, with more self-guided use than Sword Health or Hinge Health: less individualized live follow-up by a human physiotherapist.
Physitrack
British platform founded in 2012, used by tens of thousands of physiotherapists worldwide to create remote exercise programs. Free patient app PhysiApp, but only accessible through your physiotherapist.
Physitrack is a British platform founded in 2012 in London, used by more than 100,000 physiotherapists and health professionals worldwide to create personalized remote exercise programs, with built-in video consultation. Unlike Sword Health, Hinge Health, or HOPP, Physitrack isn’t a rehab service as such: it’s a professional tool that your own physiotherapist uses to follow you. The patient app, PhysiApp, is free but only works if a practitioner has registered you: there’s no way to access it alone without going through a professional who already uses the tool.
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Are AI-driven rehab apps reliable?
Yes, when artificial intelligence is used to precisely measure movement and make tracking easier, without replacing human expertise. The best rehab apps combine the precision of sensors or algorithms with the supervision of real physiotherapists who design and adjust the program, rather than leaving an algorithm alone to decide your care.
What AI brings to rehab tracking
A motion sensor can measure a joint range or the quality of execution with a precision the human eye alone doesn’t always have. That’s a real asset for objectifying your progress and detecting compensations you might not notice yourself.
Why human expertise remains essential
A sensor measures a movement, it doesn’t make a diagnosis or understand the full context of your injury, your sports history, or your return-to-play goals. That’s why serious platforms, Sword Health as much as HOPP, keep physiotherapists in the loop: to design, supervise, and adjust the program beyond what an algorithm can decide alone.
How HOPP combines both
HOPP doesn’t measure your movement with a sensor, but relies on your daily feeling (RPE) to adjust the load and progression of your exercises, within a framework entirely defined by sports physiotherapists. It’s a different approach from Sword Health’s, focused on the data you can report yourself each day rather than on automated measurement of the movement.
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose the right digital rehab app?
First look at how you get access: some apps, like Sword Health, go through an employer or an insurer, others, like HOPP, are accessible directly. Then look at who designs your program (algorithm, general physio, or specialized sports physio), your geographic area, and how fast you can start.
Are AI-driven rehab apps reliable?
Yes, when artificial intelligence is used to precisely measure movement and make tracking easier, without replacing human expertise. The best rehab apps combine the precision of sensors or algorithms with the supervision of real physiotherapists who design and adjust the program.
What is Sword Health?
Sword Health is a US-Portuguese digital rehabilitation platform that combines AI-based tracking (motion sensors) with human physiotherapists. It is distributed through employers and health insurers, mainly in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Can you access Sword Health directly, without going through an employer?
No, access to Sword Health generally goes through an employer or a partner health insurer. It’s a B2B model, unlike HOPP which is directly accessible to any athlete, with no intermediary.
Is HOPP also an AI-driven app?
HOPP adjusts your program every day based on how you feel (RPE), but every program is designed and supervised by FIFA-certified sports physiotherapists, not just by a movement-tracking algorithm.
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How do I choose the right digital rehab app?
Not all rehab apps are alike: how you access them, how much room they leave for artificial intelligence, and the profile of the professionals behind the program vary a lot. Here are the four criteria that really make the difference.
1. How you get access: employer, insurer, or direct solution
Sword Health works on a B2B model: you generally access it through a contract offered by your employer or your health insurer, which assumes your company has already signed this partnership. HOPP works the other way around, with direct access: any athlete can start a program without waiting for a company or an insurer to have negotiated access.
2. The role of artificial intelligence and human physios
Sword Health relies on motion sensors analyzed by AI, supplemented by human physiotherapists who supervise the follow-up. HOPP works differently: every program is designed by FIFA-certified sports physiotherapists, then adjusts every day based on how you feel (RPE), without depending on a motion sensor.
3. Your geographic area and follow-up language
Sword Health is mainly established in the United States and the United Kingdom, where it works with more than 2000 companies and health insurers. If you’re based elsewhere or looking for French-speaking follow-up, a solution like HOPP, designed for French-speaking athletes, is more directly accessible.
4. Price and how fast you can start
With a B2B model, the cost to you depends entirely on the contract negotiated by your employer or your insurer, and access can take time if that partnership doesn’t exist yet. HOPP works at a fixed price and without a prescription: you start your assessment and your program right away, without waiting for an intermediary to approve your access.