Value Based Health Care for Musculoskeletal Disorders 

Quality Care from Finland

The DBC (Documentation Based Care) concept was created in the mid 90´s, when a team of international musculoskeletal medicine experts led by adjunct professor Simo Taimela studied new treatment protocols for lower back pain. For two decades, the concept has combined fragmented scientific evidence with practical experience on musculoskeletal disorders, forming a modern treatment platform that is cost-efficient, scalable, and proven effective. Even the latest research confirms that the DBC concept has been ahead of its time since its conception.

Today, a network of service providers is using the DBC concept, now offered by DBC Global, to create sustainable health benefits for the patients by reducing pain, alleviating functional disturbances, eliminating unnecessary surgeries or other treatments, and improving the overall quality of life. Employers, service providers, and payers benefit from a scalable, easily implemented treatment platform that benchmarks the outcomes against the vast DBC database of over 130 000 analyzed treatment outcomes.

As all the treatment outcomes are documented, they can easily be verified by any party, including the payer. This helps the healthcare professionals to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment and offers valuable information to support product development, something DBC Global has taken a reinforced interest in.

Compared to other treatment approaches, the DBC concept has shown to reduce sick leaves and allow the patients to return to work sooner by combining a cognitive-behavioural approach with progressive physical exercise. This reduces the employer’s and the payer’s expenses considerably.

DBC Global aims to build lasting relationships that benefit all parties. By offering the DBC concept at a low initial investment, DBC Global creates a low-risk solution for the service provider, allowing the treatment to reach more people in need. This also creates better scalability, making the concept suitable for all markets, including the developing ones. This approach is supported by the new treatment device series2, which removes any unnecessary bells and whistles, bringing the costs down by almost 50%.

To ensure the best care, DBC Global offers a new mobile application-based software that guides and documents the treatments. All outcomes are added to the rapidly growing database of analysed treatment outcomes, making increasingly precise benchmarking possible. The software also acts as a patient management and communication tool, helping the service provider to stay in touch with the patient.

DBC Global manufactures DBC medical devices, which are classified as class I devices under the (EU) 2017/745 regulations. Compliance with these regulations also necessitates implementing the ISO 13485 quality management system.


Leena Niemistö – Partner, Chairman of the Board, MD, Ph.D.

30 years of experience in healthcare and rehabilitation as a physiatrist, researcher, entrepreneur and director

Diverse experience from the boards of different listed companies, growth companies, foundations, and associations

2016 Business Angel by FiBAN (Finnish Business Angels Network)

"The challenge for any healthcare growth company is to provide scientific proof that their concept works. DBC Global has extremely convincing evidence of this, gathered from reputable scientific studies and treatment series documented since the 90’s. As the evidence accumulates, it shows that rehabilitating treatment can more often be a recommendable option to surgery." 

Simo Taimela – Partner, Member of the Board, MD, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor

30 years of experience in healthcare and rehabilitation as a physician, researcher, entrepreneur and director

Diverse experience in international business

"I have been involved in the development of the DBC concept since the early 90’s. It has been wonderful to see how the treatment recommendations for musculoskeletal problems have turned upside down during that time: bed rest is now forbidden, and immobilization is kept as short as possible. Now active rehabilitation and exercise show scientifically proven effectiveness with almost all musculoskeletal problems. The newest studies suggest that active rehabilitation is at least as effective than surgery, but with less risks and better cost-efficiency."

Esa Parjanen – Partner, CEO, B.Eng.

25 years of experience in international solution sales and leadership positions, both as an entrepreneur and as a hired director

Diverse experience in partner cooperation and B2B business

7 years of experience in healthcare business

"The DBC concept has been ahead of its time for 20 years now. Our newest treatment devices, the new DBC mobile application, the recent international publications such as Lancet, and our unique insurance company references have raised interest in large international insurance companies which are looking into ways of controlling and reducing their expenses. The DBC concept is a concrete, provenly effective answer to this need."

Ali Laitasaari – Partner, Member of the Board, COO, Physiotherapist

Over 20 years of experience in physiotherapy as an entrepreneur, primarily concentrating in the DBC concept

Diverse leadership experience in the Finnish physiotherapy and rehabilitation market through different environments and partnerships

Hands-on experience backed by university studies focusing on leadership, psychology, and natural sciences

"Current treatment recommendations, the proven effectiveness of the DBC concept, and many satisfied customers confirm that we’re on the right track. During my years with DBC, I’ve concentrated on conceptualizing and replicating treatment procedures. They can bring value to the whole chain from the patient to the payer and to the service providers, while generating business value to our owners." 

Juha Koistinen – Development Director, Physiotherapist OMT

Physiotherapist OMT with almost 30 years of experience

Acted as the physiotherapy expert for the DBC concept for over 10 years

Lead physiotherapist for the Finnish Olympic Committee, working in the Committee’s elite sports unit and joining the Finnish team in Beijing 2008, London 2012, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2021

Editor of two physiotherapy and rehabilitation books, which have been used as study material in universities of applied sciences

"The methods of physiotherapy and rehabilitation have been very fragmented in Finland and elsewhere in the world. When properly directed, they have a huge potential to advance the health and mobility of people. When the methods are based on the best available research information and take into account the patient’s personal needs, we get high-quality results. However, directing and benchmarking these activities requires numbers as well, and that’s exactly what you get with the DBC concept."