The Pain Perspective

One System at a Crossroads.

Insights from Confluent Health’s 2025 Musculoskeletal Industry Survey on Chronic Pain.

From Insight to Impact in Chronic Pain Care

At Confluent Health, we believe data should not only describe the world. It should also help change it. The findings of The Pain Perspective: what many in healthcare have sensed for years: the future of chronic pain care is no longer debated—it is simply delayed.

Patients, clinicians, and physicians overwhelmingly agree that effective pain care should be conservative, movement-based, and grounded in whole-person health. Yet patients remain uncertain that the system will ever consistently deliver that experience.

At Confluent Health, we believe this gap is not caused by a lack of clinical knowledge. It is caused by a lack of connected care pathways.

The Opportunity in Front of Us

The optimism gap between patients and providers is not a
failure. It is an invitation.

It invites healthcare leaders to rebuild trust.
It invites policymakers to modernize access.
It invites payers to reward outcomes.
It invites systems to simplify pathways.

Most of all, it invites all of us to design care around people and not processes

Chronic Pain Requires a Different System

Chronic pain is not an injury to be “fixed” in a few visits. It is a condition that requires education, trust, movement, emotional support, and long-term partnership.

That is why Confluent Health was built on a different model of care. A model that prioritizes:

Physical therapy as a first-line solution, not a last resort
Movement and function over passive intervention
Education and empowerment over dependency
Integration of physical, mental, and social health
Access through hybrid delivery, not fragmentation

We do not believe chronic pain can be solved by a single provider, a single visit, or a single modality. It must be addressed through coordinated, compassionate, and continuous care.

Our Commitment

Confluent Health exists to make people stronger.
Stronger in their movement. Stronger in their confidence.
Stronger in their ability to live fully.

We believe that when people are given the right care, at the right time, in the right way, chronic pain does not have to define their future.

This report is not just a reflection of where MSK care stands today. It is a blueprint for where it can go next.

And we are committed to building that future, together.

Consensus Exists. Infrastructure Does Not.

Patients, clinicians, and physicians agree on what effective pain care should look like. The healthcare system has yet to consistently deliver it.

are currently living with chronic pain

0 %

are optimistic about the future of chronic pain care

0 %

feel optimistic about managing their pain long-term

Only 0 %

A Word From Our CEO

Chronic musculoskeletal pain touches nearly every family in America. It affects how people work, move, sleep, and live. Yet despite its enormous human and economic cost, our approach to chronic pain remains fragmented, inconsistent, and often reactive.

At Confluent Health, we believe chronic pain care must evolve beyond short-term fixes toward long-term, whole-person solutions. But meaningful change requires more than belief. It requires understanding.

That is why we launched The Pain Perspective: 2025 MSK Industry Survey on Chronic Pain. We asked patients, clinicians, and referring physicians to share their experiences, frustrations, and hopes for the future of pain care. What we found was both encouraging and urgent.

Encouraging because all three groups largely agree on what effective pain care should look like: conservative, movement-based, integrated, and patient-centered. Urgent because patients remain uncertain that the healthcare system will ever fully deliver it.

This report is not about pointing fingers. It is about closing the gap between what we know works and what patients experience every day. Chronic pain care is no longer waiting for innovation. It is waiting for alignment, access, and action.

We invite healthcare leaders, policymakers, employers, clinicians, and communities to use these insights as a catalyst for building a stronger, more compassionate future for pain care.

Because when we make people stronger, we make healthcare stronger.

— Dr. Kristi Henderson
Chief Executive Officer,
Confluent Health

Three Perspectives. One Shared Reality.

To understand the true state of chronic MSK pain care, we listened to the people living it, delivering it, and directing it.

Patients

Who they are:

Majority age 55 and older
97% have current or past chronic pain
Represent long-term MSK conditions, not short-term injuries

Why their voice matters:

Patients live inside the system every day. Their experience defines whether care works or fails.

MSK Clinicians

Who they are:

Physical therapists and MSK-focused clinicians
Represent diverse practice settings
Treat high volumes of chronic pain patients

Why their voice matters:
Clinicians translate science into real-life care.

Referring Physicians

Who they are:

Physicians referring patients for MSK pain care
Active in multimodal pain decision-making

Why their voice matters:

Physicians influence access, timing, and pathways

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