Surgery prep and recovery, without the wait
Physiotherapy for orthopaedic surgery recovery, designed around your procedure. A Portuguese clinical team builds your programme and adjusts your plan as you recover, with AI tracking your progress between sessions to keep them informed. Covered by private insurance or free through the SNS.
Already have an SNS prescription?
Continue directlyYour recovery doesn't take a day off
Most physiotherapy happens in short appointments, weeks apart. Between them, you're on your own. Sword works differently. A dedicated clinical team manages your programme from first assessment through to discharge, with clinical oversight that continues between sessions rather than pausing until the next one. Your progress is tracked every session, and your plan adjusts as you improve, not just when you next get an appointment.
- 1,000.000+
people served by Sword ¹
- 10.000.000+
care sessions delivered ¹
Why consistency drives recovery after surgery
After surgery, the window between the operating table and returning to normal movement is where recovery is won or lost. Most people leave hospital with a discharge plan and good intentions, but not the consistent, supervised physiotherapy that starts quickly and keeps pace with healing.
The gap between clinic appointments is where progress stalls, compensations set in, and small problems compound. For most post-surgical rehabilitation, what drives recovery is not the setting but the consistency: a programme that adapts as your body responds, supervised by a physiotherapist who knows your history and catches changes early.
Swollen joints, limited weight-bearing, and low energy make travelling to a clinic difficult in exactly the weeks when it matters most. Home-based physiotherapy removes that barrier. Your physiotherapist tracks movement every session, adjusts your plan as tissue heals and range returns, and is available when something changes. In clinical research, 81% of people on a digital programme completed it in full, consistently exceeding in-person benchmarks.⁴
What it does not replace is hands-on manual therapy (soft tissue work, joint mobilisation, techniques requiring physical contact). Where those remain part of the clinical picture, a clinic visit is appropriate. For most surgery recovery programmes, it isn't.
Why people choose Sword
People choose Sword because it makes consistent recovery realistic. Here's what that looks like.
Real physiotherapy, not just exercises
Your programme is built and managed by your physiotherapist, working within a physiatrist-led clinical team who review your progress and adjust your plan as you go. This is clinical care, not an exercise library.
Consistency becomes possible
Sessions fit your schedule. No travel, no waiting room, no rearranging your week around a clinic slot. For most people, removing the friction is what makes consistent recovery realistic.
Your plan changes as you do
Your clinical team tracks your movement data between sessions. When something shifts (a flare-up, a plateau, a new goal), your plan shifts with it. You don't wait until your next appointment for that to happen.
Covered more ways than you think
Every Portuguese resident can access Sword through private insurance or the SNS.
Universal access through the public health system, at no cost to you.
No prescription? No problem. We'll sort out the details before you start.
Don't have a prescription yet?
Ask your family doctor for one, or visit your nearest health centre if you don't have one.
Most plans include it. We'll confirm your coverage and any co-payments when you sign up.
No prescription yet? No problem.
We'll sort out the details before you start.
Getting started is simple
01
Tell us what’s going on
Answer a few questions about your symptoms and coverage. We'll match you with a physiotherapist and confirm your access path.
02
Share your prescription
Already have one? Add the details when you enrol. No prescription? Ask your family doctor at the nearest health centre.
03
Meet your physiotherapist
Your physiotherapist, working with a clinical team, reviews your answers and builds a plan around your condition, your goals, and your pace.
04
Start improving
Your Sword kit arrives at your door. Guided sessions, real-time feedback, and a physiotherapist supporting your progress throughout.
What it's like to use Sword
Your space, your schedule
No treatment room needed, just space to stand and move. Each personalised session is guided by your tablet, on your own time, wherever you are.
Your tablet provides instant feedback
A motion-tracking tablet arrives at your door. It gives you real-time audio and visual feedback as you move, tracks your form, and sends your progress to your physiotherapist.
Your physiotherapist with a personalised plan
Qualified and based in Portugal, with you for your whole programme to guide your recovery. Your clinical team sees your data as it comes in and adjusts your plan before a small issue becomes a setback.
Continuous support, whenever you need it
Traditional care waits for the next appointment. Sword doesn't. Reach out in the app any time, and your care team responds.
What people say about Sword
Being able to do my treatment from home and on my own schedule is fantastic!
I can't see myself doing physiotherapy any other way. On a scale of zero to ten, I'd give Sword an 11.
I can do my sessions whenever I want and at whatever time I want. I love having this flexibility.
The constant support and full availability of my physiotherapist were the key to my recovery.
I gained a therapist available just for me. Someone who listened to me, pushed me, and genuinely cared about me.
I'm back to one of the activities I missed the most — caring for and carrying my youngest daughter!
Yesterday I walked for about 40 minutes. Two weeks ago this was unthinkable for me — let alone on my own and without crutches!
It far exceeded all my expectations — from the warm, professional, and seamless welcome to the efficient, timely, and motivating support.
Meet the clinical team
Your physiotherapist is based in Portugal and stays with you from your first session to your last, learning your name, your history, and your goals. When something changes, your physiatrist-led clinical team adjusts your plan to match your needs. Sword is built around their expertise, made more personal by technology that keeps their care continuous.
Claims and clinical outcomes referenced in this website are relative to the digital health and wellness services provided and not to the medical devices that may support such services.