3 Ways Technology Is Helping People Manage Chronic Pain - MUO - MakeUseOf

Some radical endure from chronic pain, which is characterized by symptoms of symptom that persist for longer than 3 months. While this tin beryllium the effect of an underlying condition, it tin besides hap owed to an wounded oregon accident.

Whatever the cause, chronic symptom is much than a nuisance—it tin beryllium downright debilitating, preventing you from performing astatine work, engaging afloat successful societal life, sleeping properly, and adjacent enjoying the smallest things similar making a cupful of tea. When thing truthful superior affects your carnal and intelligence well-being, you tin look to the latest exertion for solutions that whitethorn assistance you find relief.

1. Virtual Reality for Chronic Pain

Image Credit: Karuna

While VR whitethorn beryllium the aboriginal of everything, it is inactive a processing technology. That said, it's already making a quality successful a scope of industries including healthcare. VR is being utilized to trim stress, supply diligent education, springiness aesculapian diagnoses, present aesculapian training, behaviour robotic country training, execute physiotherapy, and adjacent dainty chronic pain.

One company, Karuna Labs, has developed a hardware-software solution utilizing the Oculus Quest VR and HTC Vive headsets to present chronic symptom absorption programs. Using user VR hardware and the Karuna application, patients tin travel routines designed to physique a pain-free scope of question done a operation of carnal and cognitive retraining during a 12-week program. Patients tin bash each this without leaving their surviving rooms.

Another institution utilizing VR to dainty chronic symptom is BreatheVR. BreatheVR uses Gear VR and Oculus Go to assistance you bid however you respire by immersing you successful a virtual situation that responds to your breathing. As you go, you'll person a ocular reward (represented by pleasing changes to the environment) that encourages you to scope a deeper, much relaxed authorities of heavy breathing.

BreatheVR oregon 1 of the galore different apps for VR meditation training whitethorn besides assistance anyone who is managing anxiousness oregon conscionable needs an other dose of calm.

2. Photobiomodulation Therapy

Image Credit: NovoThor

Photobiomodulation (PBM) is simply a signifier of low-level laser therapy that uses reddish and near-infrared airy to dainty illness and injury. A insubstantial successful the diary Photomedicine and Laser Surgery argues that PBM therapy tin amended the prime of beingness of patients for a fraction of the outgo of galore existent approaches.

Treatments cited successful the survey see those for conditions including glaucoma, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease. PBM therapy is present being utilized to trim inflammation and dainty some acute and chronic pain. The exertion itself tin look a batch similar a tanning bed, but alternatively of UV airy affecting the pigmentation of your skin, PBM aims to usage low-level lasers to stimulate your assemblage into healing itself.

Some PBM products, specified arsenic the Thor handheld laser attraction device, person been designed to people circumstantial parts of your body. However, PBM devices are costly and not intended for idiosyncratic use.

3. Treating Chronic Pain With Mobile Apps

Treatment for chronic symptom tin beryllium expensive, arsenic PBM sessions astatine a session tin outgo arsenic overmuch arsenic $100 per visit. As a result, determination has been a tremendous magnitude of effort enactment into creating inexpensive, accessible wellness apps to assistance radical with chronic pain.

Pathways

Pathways Pain Relief is 1 specified app, and it uses a biopsychosocial attack to symptom mitigation and management. That's a fancy mode of saying that alternatively of immersing you into a virtual situation oregon utilizing lasers, Pathways focuses connected the mind-body transportation and is designed to bid your caput and assemblage distant from pain.

Pathways assertion that its app tin assistance you execute lasting symptom alleviation utilizing harmless and effectual techniques. In-app exercises see a symptom alleviation program, a well-being masterclass, hundreds of meditations designed for symptom relief, arsenic good arsenic physiotherapy, yoga, and different workout routines.

Download: Pathways Pain Relief for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

Wave

Other apps connected the marketplace specified arsenic Wave purpose to assistance you way symptoms, medications, sleep, and different activities related to your chronic pain. The extremity present is to supply you with elaborate idiosyncratic insights that volition alteration you to amended power the symptoms you experience, including by moving much efficaciously with doctors.

By tracking your symptoms much closely, you whitethorn observe caller causes oregon triggers of pain. If you inactive request much information, Wave includes AI that generates insights successful real-time to assistance necktie actions to symptoms. And due to the fact that chronic symptom often leaves radical feeling frustrated and helpless, apps similar Wave enactment similar a virtual advocator and wellness companion that accompanies you connected your travel to wellness.

Download: Wave for Android | iOS (Subscription required, escaped proceedings available)

Curable

Another promising app successful the satellite of chronic symptom absorption is Curable, which the developers authorities has been developed successful consultation with board-certified physicians, symptom psychologists, carnal therapists, and neuroscientists.

Even though it claims to beryllium precise antithetic from different apps connected the market, Curable takes a akin biopsychosocial attack to symptom management. The app volition assistance amended you connected the subject down symptom arsenic good arsenic however to use a wide scope of science-backed techniques to trim symptoms, including somatic tracking, graded centrifugal imagery, cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, guided meditations, and symptom simplification visualization.

Download: Curable for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

Using Technology to Manage Chronic Pain

While consulting with a doc is ever the champion solution to superior ailments specified arsenic chronic pain, this enactment isn't ever available. In addition, galore radical conflict to find solutions that enactment for them, truthful having a assortment of options to experimentation with is the champion way to uncovering thing that works.

The top happening astir utilizing exertion to dainty chronic symptom is that astir devices are non-pharmacological (no hazard of processing a dependency oregon experiencing antagonistic broadside effects), non-invasive, and safe. Plus, they're often much affordable and accessible than medicine oregon outpatient treatments.

So if you endure from chronic symptom and inactive haven't recovered a solution that works for you, see trying 1 of these technological solutions.