Biomechanical Biomarkers: The Missing Link in Personalized MSK Care

According to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study, musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders—including low back pain, neck pain, and osteoarthritis—are among the top causes of years lived with disability (YLDs) worldwide. Low back pain alone has consistently ranked as the leading cause of disability globally for decades.

Yet, unlike cardiology or endocrinology, MSK care has historically lacked standardized, objective biomechanical metrics (biomechanical biomarkers) to track progress, personalize treatment, and validate outcomes. 

That is, until now.

With FIGUR8’s bioMotion Assessment Platform (bMAP), providers can now capture 71 clinically relevant MSK biomarkers across 5 targeted assessments—offering unique insight into function, recovery, and risk.

The knowledge of the FIGUR8 MSK biomarkers provide objective data that benefits patients, providers, and payers alike as part of an integrated care team.

What Are the MSK Biomarkers collected by bMAP?

MSK biomarkers are objective biomechanical measurements that assist in quantifying joint range of motion, muscle function*, movement symmetry, and neuromuscular coordination. They offer a granular, data-driven view into a patient’s movement health, enabling clinicians to detect conditions that are invisible to the naked eye or missing from subjective reports.

FIGUR8’s bMAP captures these biomarkers through a brief, non-invasive assessment of the neck, low back and knee as well as a lower body screen and upper extremity endurance screen.  These offerings provide clinicians  details of how different joints, muscles and body segments are performing during dynamic functional movements. In other words, a snapshot of the entire kinematic chain, not just isolated body segment’s pain points.

As shown in the visual above, FIGUR8’s bMAP spans the neck, low back, knee, and upper/lower extremities—delivering data-rich snapshots that help identify deficits** across the entire body.

Patient Perspective: Clarity, Motivation, and Faster Recovery

When you're in pain, it’s hard to tell if you’re getting better, or what “better” even looks like. Pain is subjective. Progress is hard to measure. And treatment plans often feel like a guessing game.

Tracking biomarkers changes that.

Accessible biomechanical data revolutionizes patient treatment by providing:

• Objective feedback: Visualize clear data on what’s improving and what still needs work.
• Motivational tracking: Progress is visualized across time, reinforcing adherence to care plans.
  Personalized interventions: Data pinpoints deficits that are easy to miss—leading to smarter, faster recoveries.

Provider View: Better Decisions, Less Guesswork

Clinicians often rely on observation and patient-reported symptoms. FIGUR8 adds a layer of measurable insight that can guide and optimize treatment decisions, helping transform subjective complaints into objective biomechanical profiles.

• Early risk detection: Subtle asymmetries or deficits are flagged before they become injuries.
• Tailored care plans: Providers can match therapy to specific biomarker findings, eliminating questionable one-size-fits-all treatment plans.—no more one-size-fits-all.
• Communication made easy: Visual reports help providers engage patients and align with referring physicians.

By capturing over 70 biomarkers in just minutes, FIGUR8 gives providers a more complete MSK profile, empowering smarter clinical decision-making across every visit.

Payer Value: Measurable Outcomes and Lower Costs

For health plans and employers, the stakes are high. MSK care is one of the top drivers of healthcare spending and too often, it's delivered without a clear sense of efficacy.

With biomechanical data, healthcare plans finally have a metric to anchor MSK outcomes, providing better patient and provider resources.

• Objective outcome validation: Know if a treatment worked—not just if it happened.
• Data for ROI modeling: Track recovery speed, functional gains, and return-to-work rates with real numbers.
• Network optimization: Identify high-performing providers based on functional outcomes, not just volume.

The result? Better care, lower waste, and a system where value—not just visits—is rewarded.

The Future is Grounded in Clinically Integrated Biomechanics 

FIGUR8 bMAP is more than a biomechanics tool; it’s building a new standard for MSK care. By unlocking the power of biomarkers, we’re transforming how patients recover, how providers deliver care, and how payers invest in outcomes.

The MSK system of the future is objective, connected, and accountable, enabling smarter therapy grounded in biomechanical data that helps everyone involved do better: the patient, the provider, and the payer.

Learn more about how FIGUR8 helps your care team move from observation to optimization. Contact us HERE or via email via info@FIGUR8tech.com

*Surface Mechanomyography sensors in the bioMotion Assessment Platform measure the muscle’s volumetric change during contraction.
**Deficits are compared against average data collected from healthy individuals.

Reference:
Vos, T., Lim, S. S., Abbafati, C., et al. (2020). Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.The Lancet, 396(10258), 1204–1222. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30925-9