BALTIMORE (WMAR) — Did you know your sleep habits and even diet can drastically impact chronic pain? A VA doctor is developing an app to help people take charge of their own pain relief and it includes much more than medications.
“It became clear to me early on in my career that there was a lot of need for people to have better care for back pain,” said Dr. Beth Hogans.
Dr. Hogans is national expert on chronic pain among the elderly who works at the Baltimore VA Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center. She’s on a mission to help veterans who often deal with back pain as a result of their service.
“Whether it’s just carrying the luggage, jumping in and out of vans or vehicles, maneuvers. All of those things can contribute to back pain,” said Dr. Hogans. “I have a patient; she was in the Navy. They were lifting this chain that was something like 200 pounds per linear foot and somehow the message came down and people starting dropping the chain but not all at the same time and so she was literally left holding this 2,000 pounds of chain all of the sudden and it really messed up her spine.”
Five years ago, she started to develop an app called ‘Ready, Go Pain!’ to make proven chronic pain remedies in the hands of her patients without them having to see costly specialists.
The app helps users build their own pain plan: a comprehensive daily checklist of self-directed and safe activities, including choices for exercise, better sleep, improved nutrition, meditation and yoga.
“Two minutes of cardio a day, taking a walk, spending three minutes deep breathing, we know these things are safe and why not get them to people so they can use them,” said Dr. Hogans.
She said these active therapies, as opposed to medications, produce more positive long term outcomes like less pain and better mobility.
“We would expect by the time you get to week six, you’re gonna be feeling better and back pain isn’t going to be such a big part of your life,” said Dr. Hogans.
The app is currently in a testing phase with veterans like BJ Ross. He hopes it will help him with his areas of concern because of arthritis.
“Basically I don’t have a plan so it’s gonna help me. I believe it’s gonna help me develop a plan so that I can make some changes to what I’m doing now,” said Ross.
They can accept any veteran who has had back pain for at least three months and gets their health care at a VA location. To sign up, contact Hogans and her team at beth.hogans@va.gov or 443-509-9436.
The goal is it will eventually be rolled out nationally for anyone who wants to download it.
Dr. Hogans also recently published a book on chronic pain in which she explains the causes and treatments.
