Long-term Use of Wearable Health Technology by Chronic Pain Patients

Objectives: People living with chronic pain may use wearable health technology (WHT) in conjunction with an expert-directed pain management program for up to 1 year. WHT use may be associated with improvements in key patient outcomes. Methods: A 12-month study of WHT use among people with chronic pain was conducted, consisting of iPhone and Apple Watch applications to measure movement, sleep, and self-reported pain. Clinical outcomes among 105 patients enrolled in a multidisciplinary pain program that included WHT use were compared with 146 patients in the same program but without WHT, and to 161 patients receiving medical pain management without WHT. Results: Participants used the WHT on average 143.0 (SD: 117.6) out of 365 days. Mixed-effects models revealed participants who used WHT had decreases in depression scores (−7.83, P
Source: The Clinical Journal of Pain - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research