Is Hinge Health Worth $1200!!! - Hinge Health Application Review (Virtual Physical Therapy App)
39Is Hinge Health Worth $1200!!! - Hinge Health Application Review (Virtual Physical Therapy App)
Script:
Enough with all these video games such as Let’s Get Fit, Wii Fit, Ring Fit Adventure or any other title with fit in it… I want to try a more intense platform that is dedicated to health and resolving deep seated issues. Well, that's when I found out about Hinge Health, a digital health hardware and software company that aims to tackle musculoskeletal disorders. As someone with light back pain, I was looking forward to getting this guy in my hands. After thirty plus days of use is my back pain better? Is this platform worth spending twelve hundred dollars and many hours of your life on? Or would that be better put to use for some Yoga classes for your back? Let's find out when I spend thirty days with Hinge Health.
[Intro]
I know what you are all thinking. Twelve hundred dollars sounds like a lot of money… and that's because it is. Twelve hundred dollars is two thousand dollars according to Joe Biden. That’s my rent for a two bed one bath… some of you can’t tell if that’s a brag or an cry for help and neither can I. Luckily if you have health insurance, some providers will cover the entire cost of the unit. I have Blue Cross; Blue Shield of Illinois and the unit was covered. The same company in other states or other insurance companies may not cover this device. I also don't know how insurance works outside of the United States, so whether this thing will be covered by insurance or not outside of America is for you to determine. I will say that it is incredibly expensive but the price may be worth it considering a specialist can be a few hundred dollars or more again depending on your insurance and whatever country you are from. I am not sponsored by anyone but I can say the price is too high but I will get to it later on in this review.
With the price discussed let's start off with the beginning process of Hinge. When you sign up for your unit, you must complete a survey on any pain you have and in what areas of your body. I didn't record it since my insurance information was on the screen, but it went incredibly in-depth with specifics and goals in mind. My survey results focused on my back pain, but other areas such as knee and shoulder pain can be picked, and the program will then work to help that issue. It's pretty cool when applications use this, and it's something I wish more games would. Really only the game Gold Gym Dance workout did it, and it's probably the best part of that game. The review for that is linked below.
After you create your account, you will get a unit shipped and assigned a coach to lead you through a personalized exercise program. I didn't interact with my coach at all since I don't need the full suite of physical therapy needs… I just need some movement to get my back going well. I will say the target audience does appear to be those forty or older, and the exercises and experience are focused on those people. As someone still in their twenties, I don't have that much of an issue moving around yet. That's a pretty big yet if I don't get my health in order.
After about a week, I got my Hinge Health unit. The unit comes in this lovely case with a zipper containing a few departments. First is your device, which is just a Lenovo TB-8505 tablet with the application pre-installed. You can also just use your phone, although having a bigger screen is for those who are hard of seeing. Off to the side, you have a stand to hold the device up in portrait mode. You also get various chargers for it and the two straps. These straps are the real game changer here. One strap will go around the chest facing front, and the other will go behind your back. These two straps will read the center of your body as you bend forward, backward, and to the sides. There isn't anything that reads the movements of your arms and legs, so it's pretty much the exact opposite of Let's Get Fit. Watch my review on that to get the reference. A Computer Vision component was also being developed as I was doing the challenge that will allow the app to track your arms and legs. Maybe I should revisit this in a year to see the improvements. Let me know if you would want to see a follow-up video.
As you can see behind me, the straps are long enough to fit around a three-hundred-pound man with plenty of room left to lengthen. The device and stand work wonders, and the carrying case are excellent. The dual charging is fantastic and works with pretty much any USB slot. I have to say that just from the packaging alone, I was greatly impressed. Everything is incredibly high quality and has lasted me three months to write the script and record the video without issue. That's right, I still use Hinge Health every once in a while, which is a pretty good estimate of its quality. I usually drop these products like a hot potato after a video.
Read the full review at jack-jenkins.com