Blue Shield of California's Award-Winning Wellvolution Now Offers Services to Prevent and Treat Musculoskeletal Pain and Injuries

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Nonprofit health plan continues to expand its lifestyle medicine program, following recent additions of hypertension and Spanish language offerings

OAKLAND, Calif., April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Shield of California is expanding its award-winning digital health platform Wellvolution to include three new programs – SworkIt, Kaia and Sword Health – to support members with musculoskeletal health needs.

Wellvolution, built in collaboration with Solera Health, offers lifestyle medicine programs for diabetes, tobacco cessation, weight management, mental health, hypertension, and now musculoskeletal health. Since launching in January, over 1,600 Blue Shield of California members have registered for a musculoskeletal program through Wellvolution.

In the United States, nearly half of the population suffers from a musculoskeletal condition – pain, injury or disorder of bones, joints, ligaments, muscles or tendons. This includes close to 40% of Californians. Musculoskeletal health is the number one cause of workplace disability. The pain can be debilitating and prevents people from completing day-to-day tasks, both in and out of work.

Common musculoskeletal conditions include:

• Lower back pain
• Neck pain
• Arthritis
• Carpal tunnel
• Muscle strain

"Wellvolution has helped over 200,000 members prevent, treat, and even reverse chronic conditions, and we are determined to continue expanding our offerings to address additional needs, like musculoskeletal pain," said Angie Kalousek-Ebrahimi, senior director of Lifestyle Medicine at Blue Shield of California. "Addressing pain isn't one-size-fits-all, which is why we are bringing three highly personalized musculoskeletal services to our Wellvolution platform to meet the diverse needs of our membership."

Now available, members with varying health needs can access support to address and prevent musculoskeletal pain: 

• SworkIt is a mobility and exercise digital app for everyone, with or without musculoskeletal pain. The program offers video-guided workouts to help prevent and recover from injury. The app features stretching, strength, cardio, yoga, barre, and Pilates workouts.
  
  
• Kaia is an evidence-based digital therapy that addresses a range of musculoskeletal conditions including back, joint, and chronic pain. Kaia provides tailored care plans that include exercises, mindfulness techniques, educational content, and one-on-one support from Nationally Certified Health Coaches. The program also includes Motion Coach™, Kaia's industry leading motion analysis technology that guides members through each exercise session with real-time feedback.
  
  
• Sword Health is a clinically rigorous program that's designed to predict, prevent, and treat pain. Members have a dedicated, licensed physical therapist who creates a tailored exercise plan and connects with the member two to three times weekly. Clinicians provide real human connection, offering empathy, support and compassion along a member's journey.

"As musculoskeletal conditions impact nearly half of all Americans, timely access to physical therapy is an essential component of high-quality care," said Dr. Byron Crowe, Solera's chief medical officer. "Virtual-first physical therapy approaches offered on the Solera platform allow patients to get care faster and give themselves the best chance of regaining function while avoiding invasive procedures. We are excited to expand our ongoing collaboration with Blue Shield of California through the addition of this key condition category to the Wellvolution platform."

Members can go to Wellvolution.com or Wellvolution.com/es and fill out the health questionnaire to get started with musculoskeletal programs SworkIt, Kaia, and Sword Health.

About Blue Shield of California
Blue Shield of California strives to create a healthcare system worthy of its family and friends that is sustainably affordable. Blue Shield of California is a tax paying, nonprofit, independent member of the Blue Shield Association with more than 4.8 million members, over 7,500 employees and more than $24 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare healthcare service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $97 million to Blue Shield of California Foundation in the last three years to have an impact on California communities.

For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit news.blueshieldca.com. 

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About Solera Health 
Solera is changing lives by guiding people to better health solutions that work. The Solera value-based technology platform enables successful interventions that address the most prevalent and costly chronic conditions. Solera matches consumers to their best-fit solution within carefully curated networks of digital and community-based point solutions, and drives superior engagement and outcomes by managing performance. Solera's technology platform serves payers and employers by streamlining, integrating, and creating accountability in the point solution ecosystem. For more information, visit www.soleranetwork.com. 

SOURCE Blue Shield of California