Online musculoskeletal (MSK) treatment provider SpineZone announced late last week a $12 million Series A funding round. Polaris Partners and Providence Ventures led the round, which also saw support from Martin Ventures.

WHAT IT DOES

SpineZone's MSK services combine guided exercise programs, assessments and coaching, with the option of in-person care. Patients who are referred through primary care or a partner organization receive an evaluation to determine their pain or potential complications, then receive home exercise instructions through the SpineZone app.

Treatment plans can range from a six-week program with health coaching support, a 10-week on-site program for more severe or persistent pain, or escalation to injections or surgery if necessary. This tiered approach covers the full breadth of MSK spend, instead of acting solely as a digital point solution, the company said, and limits the patients being subjected to costly or intensive MSK treatment.

“During my 25-year career as a spine surgeon, I noticed a dramatic increase in patients who were receiving surgery for back and neck pain, but who were not getting their desired long-term result,” Dr. Kamshad Raiszadeh, cofounder and chief medical officer of SpineZone, said in a statement.

“Many back and neck surgeries are not necessary. We wanted to develop a better model of patient-centric, value-based healthcare that truly puts the patient first. Using a multidisciplinary model with evidence-based treatments, many patients demonstrate significant functional improvements and pain reduction, despite having conditions that are classically thought to be surgical."

SpineZone said that it is currently managing one million individuals, and that over six years it has built up the data bank of patient treatments and outcomes it uses to personalize care plans. It also has partnerships with three large health systems – Sharp HealthCare, Scripps and Providence – as well as Anthem fueling its referrals.

WHAT IT'S FOR

The company said that it will be using the new funds to expand its business via additional strategic partnerships and clinics in new markets. In addition, it will be building out the platform to support all primary MSK conditions.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

MSK health is a hot corner of the digital health space. Among its heaviest hitters providing these services are: 

• Hinge Health, which announced a major $300 million Series D funding round this year.
• companies like Omada and DarioHealth, which are chronic disease management platforms which each bought into MSK care with M&A deals over the past year.
• other smaller platforms, such as Sword Health (with a $25 million Series B in January), Kaia Health (with a $26 million Series B last year) and Sparta Science (with a $16 million Series B last year).

At the same time, SpineZone's digital-plus-in-person strategy has found some success outside of MSK care. Tech-enabled primary care provider Carbon Health raised more than $100 million across multiple investments last year, while growing from seven to 27 clinics. One Medical's similar business outperformed expectations following its IPO at the head of 2020.