What drives trust in musculoskeletal (MSK) care?

That’s the question Vori Health set out to answer by commissioning a nationally representative survey conducted by The Harris Poll. In an increasingly fragmented system, we wanted to better understand what actually builds confidence if Americans were to seek care for back or joint pain.

The results were clear—and in many ways, surprising.

Below are five takeaways that every employer, health plan, and consultant should know when evaluating or optimizing MSK benefits.

1. Most Americans want a physician and PT evaluation before considering surgery.

More than half of Americans (52%) say they’d feel most confident they’re getting the right care before considering surgery for back or joint pain if they received a full evaluation from a coordinated team—including a physician and a physical therapist (PT)—focused on exploring all non-surgical options.

That’s 6.5x more than those who said they’d feel most confident with starting physical therapy without seeing a physician (just 8%).

The takeaway? When surgery is on the table, people want a team—not a single point of view.

‍

2. Hybrid care isn’t just preferred—it’s essential.

When given the choice, Americans are 3x more likely to choose a virtual + in-person model (23%) over virtual-only care (8%) for back or joint pain. For virtual MSK platforms to succeed, they need to offer the freedom of choice—as well as a seamless path to in-person escalation.

Hybrid is particularly critical for older adults. In fact, 52% of adults 65 and over say having an in-person option for back or joint pain is the most important feature of any virtual care experience.

When given the choice, Americans are 3x more likely to choose a virtual + in-person model (23%) over virtual-only care (8%) for back or joint pain.

‍

3. Long wait times are the #1 reason people delay care.

About 1 in 3 Americans (34%) say they would avoid care for back or joint pain because they’d have to wait weeks for an appointment. That number jumps to 42% among adults aged 45–54.

Speed matters. If care isn’t accessible quickly, people don’t get it.

‍

4. Conflicting advice erodes trust in MSK care.

47% of Americans say that getting conflicting advice would be a key concern if they had ongoing back or joint pain and were seeing different providers who don’t communicate or work together. This confusion likely stems from siloed models, where patients bounce between PT, urgent care, imaging centers, and orthopedic and spine surgeons—with no unified plan.

Integrated care models reduce friction and build confidence by aligning communication across one team.

‍

5. Older adults trust integrated care more than any other model.

If they were dealing with ongoing back or joint pain, 49% of older adults (ages 65+) say they would most trust a plan created by a doctor who specializes in non-surgical care and a physical therapist, working together as a team, like Vori’s integrated model—compared to just 7% for PT-only and 4% for surgeon-led care.

Before considering surgery, the preference would be even stronger: two-thirds of adults 65+ (67%) say they would feel most confident they are getting the right care with a comprehensive evaluation from a coordinated care team-including a specialty physician, physical therapist, and others-to explore all non-surgical options. That’s 13.4x higher than those who would be most confident starting with physical therapy without seeing a physician (5%).

47% of Americans say that getting conflicting advice would be a key concern if they had ongoing back or joint pain and were seeing different providers who don’t communicate or work together.

‍

What this means for benefit design

If you want to improve engagement, reduce unnecessary surgeries, and deliver better outcomes, it starts with building trust. This research confirms that people trust fast, physician-led, hybrid MSK care—especially when stakes are high.

That’s exactly what we’ve built at Vori Health.

• Fast access (appointments within 48 hours)
• Hybrid delivery (virtual-first with in-person options)
• Team-based care (physician + PT from day one)

Let’s talk about how to bring this model to your population—schedule a demo today.

^{1. This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Vori Health from May 27-29, 2025, among 2,095 adults ages 18+. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.}

^{For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact pr@vorihealth.com.}