Hinge Health

Hinge Health is a digital health company offering virtual physical therapy and broader musculoskeletal (MSK) care through a mobile app. Members receive a personalized exercise therapy plan designed by licensed physical therapists that adapts as symptoms change, plus a dedicated care team that can include a physical therapist, certified health coach, orthopedic specialist and an AI care assistant. Physical therapists are described as reachable via text message, phone, or video call. The app uses smart camera and 3D motion-tracking technology (marketed as Motion Insights) to provide real-time form feedback and movement analysis, and includes video and verbal exercise instruction, progress and pain tracking, and educational content.

The programs address chronic MSK pain in areas such as the back, neck, knees, hips, shoulders, hands and arms, and feet and legs, as well as arthritis, herniated discs, pinched nerves, patellofemoral pain syndrome, pelvic floor conditions, and preventive uses such as fall prevention and balance. Sessions are designed to be completed in 15 minutes or less. Beyond software, the company sells Enso, an FDA-cleared wearable device that uses patented waveforms to deliver drug-free electrical pain relief and is described as exclusive to Hinge Health. Hinge Health also offers virtual pelvic floor therapy with a care team specializing in MSK and pelvic health.

As of a July 2024 third-party research report, the company was headquartered in San Francisco with roughly 1,626 employees; a 2022 figure cited in the same report described over 600 employees working remotely and from offices in San Francisco, Portland, Chicago, and Minneapolis.

Founding story

According to a third-party research report, Hinge Health was founded by Daniel Perez (CEO) and Gabriel Mecklenburg (Executive Chairman). Perez had a biomedical engineering background and Mecklenburg had product management and operations experience. Both had personal musculoskeletal injuries — Perez suffered multiple bone fractures in a bike accident and Mecklenburg tore his ACL in a judo match — and encountered a disjointed care system with over-reliance on surgery and opioids during recovery, which prompted them to build a service aimed at reducing chronic pain, unnecessary surgeries and opioid use. They assembled a team with backgrounds in physical therapy, behavioral science and clinical psychology to develop the product.

Business model

Hinge Health sells its MSK care programs to employers and health plans, which offer the service as a benefit to their populations; members are described as accessing the program at $0 cost to them. The company markets value-added contracting through national health plans and pharmacy benefit managers and positions the offering as lowering employer healthcare costs. It also supplies the Enso wearable device as part of its care model.

Revenue is generated from employer and health-plan customers that contract for the program on behalf of their members, with the company citing value-based pricing; individual members are described as paying $0.

Traction

Publicly cited traction includes availability to over 2,800 companies and health plans, an average 68% reduction in pain within the first 12 weeks of the program, a claimed 58% reduction in anxiety and depression among users, and an independently validated 3.0x hard dollar ROI. Third-party data lists 1,626 employees and $826.1 million in total funding as of July 2024.

Latest developments

The company's homepage announces that Hinge Health is welcoming Cylinder Health. A third-party research report updated in July 2024 states that Hinge Health has become a public company and that coverage of it as a private company has ceased.