Virtual musculoskeletal care startup Upswing Health announced last week it had scored $5 million in seed funding.

Participants in the round included Montage Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, WTI, Ikigai Healthcare Fund and other strategic investors.

WHAT IT DOES

Upswing offers an online symptom checker where users can describe their pain in a questionnaire and receive exercise recommendations that could help. If their injury or condition is more severe, patients can consult virtually with health coaches who are usually certified athletic trainers.

Patients can also access telehealth appointments with orthopedic physicians and receive referrals to in-network specialists, surgeons or imaging providers if necessary. 

WHAT IT'S FOR

The MSK startup will use the investment to fuel growth and hire new leadership positions as well as speed product development, marketing and sales to new partners. 

"This successful funding round reflects investors’ collective confidence in the innovation Upswing Health has brought to market and its future as a much larger business," CEO Yenvy Truong said in a statement.

"We were delighted to find ourselves oversubscribed and able to expand the offering. The capital raised will help us continue to deliver immediate access to the highest quality of care while reducing wasted time and resources."

MARKET SNAPSHOT

There are a variety of virtual MSK and physical therapy startups raising funds, while platform digital health companies are also entering the increasingly competitive space. 

Major players Hinge Health and SWORD Health both held multiple financing rounds last year, some worth nine figures. Both companies also recently expanded into female pelvic health and pain.

DarioHealth, which also offers chronic condition management tools for hypertension, diabetes and weight, launched its own MSK program in October after it acquired Upright Technologies early last year. It also entered into an agreement in January to buy Physimax, a company that offers AI-enabled movement assessment and injury prevention.

Another platform company, Omada, entered the MSK space with its 2020 purchase of Physera.

Other companies include RecoveryOne, which recently launched its own computer vision tool that traces motion and gives feedback, Kaia Health, which raised $75 million in Series C funding about a year ago, and SpineZone, which closed a $12 million Series A in February 2021.