Glossary

MSK & digital health, in plain English

The terms that come up when NHS, occupational health and employer teams evaluate a musculoskeletal platform — defined clearly, without the jargon.

MSK (Musculoskeletal): Relating to the muscles, bones, joints, tendons and ligaments. MSK conditions — such as back, neck, shoulder and knee pain — are among the most common causes of pain, disability and lost working days in the UK.
Digital MSK triage: The use of clinically-led digital assessment to route a person with musculoskeletal pain to the right support quickly — either supported self-management or clinician review — rather than a single long waiting list.
Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE): A structured assessment of a person's physical ability to perform work-related tasks such as bending, lifting and sustained effort. An FCE produces objective evidence to support return-to-work and workplace-adjustment decisions.
Prehabilitation (prehab): Structured physical preparation before surgery. Building strength and fitness during the waiting period aims to improve surgical outcomes and recovery, and in some cases can reduce the need for surgery.
Phased return to work: A staged return after illness or injury, using reduced or amended hours and duties agreed between the employee, employer and clinician — often alongside a GP's fit note — to help someone return safely and stay in work.
Motion capture (RAG feedback): Technology that measures body movement — here, real-time joint-angle measurement through a phone camera — and gives red/amber/green (RAG) feedback on exercise form, so a person can correct technique as they move.
Digital Twin (return-to-work): A virtual model of a person's job demands. Clinicians and employers can test 'what-if' return-to-work scenarios — such as shorter shifts or modified duties — before a phased return begins.
DTAC: The Digital Technology Assessment Criteria — the baseline NHS assessment a buyer uses to evaluate a digital health product across clinical safety, data protection, technical assurance, interoperability and usability/accessibility.
DSP Toolkit: The NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit — an annual self-assessment that organisations complete to demonstrate they meet the required data-security and information-governance standards.
DCB0129: An NHS clinical risk-management standard that applies to manufacturers of health IT. It requires a clinical risk-management system, a named Clinical Safety Officer, a hazard log and a clinical safety case report.
HRV (Heart Rate Variability): The variation in time between heartbeats, measured by many wearables. Used alongside sleep and activity data as an indicator of recovery and readiness, helping to adapt exercise programmes day to day.
Perfect Form: ReVive's side-by-side comparison of a person's movement against physiotherapist-demonstrated technique from a clinically-defined reference library, so people can see exactly what good form looks like and where they differ.