What Makes a Treatment for an MSK Condition Stick?

We’ve all started a health routine with the best of intentions—whether it’s physical therapy, an exercise plan, or a new medication—only to watch it fade as life gets in the way.

That’s not failure. It’s human nature.

But when it comes to chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain, the stakes are higher. Adherence—your ability to stick with a treatment—often determines whether you get real relief or stay stuck in a cycle of discomfort.

So the question becomes: what kind of treatment actually sticks?

The Reality of Drop-Off

It’s a well-documented challenge. A systematic review of adherence in physical rehab found that as many as 70% of patients don’t complete their full course of therapy¹. Reasons vary—time constraints, low motivation, travel challenges, or simply feeling like the program isn’t working.

And while app-based digital MSK tools have gained popularity, many face the same hurdles: high initial engagement followed by steep drop-offs in usage over time².

Low adherence doesn’t just waste time and money. It means lost opportunity for real recovery—and increased risk of surgery, medication dependence, or disability.

The Adherence Advantage of Real-World Relief

What if instead of expecting people to build their lives around treatment, we built treatment into their lives?

That’s exactly what Apos® does.

Apos® is a foot-worn medical device that treats chronic knee and back pain by retraining the way people walk. Calibrated to each individual’s gait, it shifts pressure away from painful areas and promotes healthier biomechanics—with minimal effort required.

You wear it at home, during normal activities. No appointments. No phone check-ins. No reminders. Just movement—with purpose.

And that simplicity is a big reason why people stick with it.

In a peer-reviewed real-world study, adherence to Apos® therapy was reported to be exceptionally high. Not only did patients wear the device consistently over time, but they also reported sustained improvement in pain and function over the course of 20 months³.

Designing for the Human Experience

Effective treatment isn’t just about what works in theory. It’s about what works in life.

Apos® taps into several key adherence drivers:

• Ease of use – no setup or learning curve
• Integration with daily life – therapy happens while walking or doing chores
• Positive reinforcement – early relief encourages ongoing use
• No digital friction – no logins, dashboards, or app fatigue

These design features are backed by behavioral science. Research in health psychology shows that adherence increases dramatically when therapy is convenient, low-effort, and intrinsically rewarding⁴.

Put simply: the best treatment is the one people will actually use.

Real Outcomes Require Real Engagement

For health systems, employers, and clinicians, adherence is more than a patient issue—it’s a performance issue. If a solution isn’t being used, it’s not delivering value.

That’s why Apos® isn’t just clinically effective. It’s behaviorally intelligent. It delivers relief in a way that respects the patient’s time, lifestyle, and capacity for change.

And the payoff is tangible:

• Zero knee surgeries in the Apos® group in a 20-month study period
• 81% reduction in MSK-related healthcare costs
• Sustained functional improvement and quality of life gains²

Stick With What Works

Chronic pain makes life harder. Treatment shouldn’t make it harder still.

By embedding therapy into movement, Apos® removes the friction points that cause most treatments to fail. It doesn’t demand willpower or reminders. It simply fits—and works.

That’s what makes it stick.

Learn more about sustainable pain relief at aposhealth.com

Sources

1. Jack K, McLean SM, Moffett JK, Gardiner E. Barriers to treatment adherence in physiotherapy outpatient clinics: a systematic review. Man Ther. 2010;15(3):220–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.math.2009.12.004
2. Perski O, Blandford A, West R, Michie S. Conceptualising engagement with digital behavior change interventions: a systematic review using principles from critical interpretive synthesis. Transl Behav Med. 2017;7(2):254–267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-016-0453-1
3. Bar-Ziv Y, Ran Y, Shidlovski A, et al. Value-based care for musculoskeletal pain: real-world outcomes using a foot-worn device in a large, risk-bearing provider network. JHEOR. 2024;11(1):24–33. https://jheor.org/article/140740
4. Michie S, van Stralen MM, West R. The behavior change wheel: a new method for characterizing and designing behavior change interventions. Implement Sci. 2011;6(1):42. https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-6-42