Fighting Pain with Technology

Pain is an unpleasant emotional and sensory experience that can be mild, moderate, or severe. When such pain recurs over three months, it is called chronic pain. This discomfort can result from health conditions like arthritis, nervous system changes, or injuries.

Over 51.6 million Americans are living with chronic pain. However, a 2022 review published in The Journal of Pain asserted that the Black community is disproportionally affected by chronic musculoskeletal pain, a type of pain that comes from the muscles, bones, joints, or related tissues. We also tend to experience worse pain-related outcomes compared to other groups, which the study linked to systemic racial inequalities, which leads to limited healthcare access, suboptimal care, and social and economic disadvantages.

Pain can affect daily activities, mental health, sleep, social life, and work, which can lead to anxiety and depression, two conditions with already high prevalence in the Black community. The difficulty in pain management in our community goes back to how research is being conducted, coupled with a history of systemic racism and medical bias. To overcome the negative impact of systemic bias and socioeconomic barriers to pain management on the Black community, it is important we explore more affordable technological alternatives for long-term wellness.

The challenges of pain management with medication

Medication often remains the most common approach to pain management, including prescription pain relievers, over-the-counter medications, and topical creams and gels. While these treatments can effectively reduce pain, they carry significant risks, including:

Dependence and addiction: Opioid painkillers are addictive, leading to a surge in the opioid pandemic in the United States. From 2015 to 2020, the drug overdose death rate among Black men rose from 17.3% to 59.6%, according to the CDC
Tolerance: The body becomes used to the medication, so you will need higher doses to achieve the same effect over time
Organ damage: The prolonged use of high doses can lead to kidney damage (especially with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) or liver damage (observed with paracetamol). They are also linked to heart problems like stroke and heart attack
Withdrawal syndrome: Stopping the use of opioids abruptly can lead to agitation, anxiety, and flu-like symptoms
Severe side effects: Dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, and impaired coordination are some of the common side effects often reported with pain medications

Why Pain Relief with Tech Matters in Black Communities

Health disparity in the Black community manifest as higher rates of chronic illnesses in our community compared to the white population. Class, race, and gender often influence the kind of pain management treatment an individual will get.

For example, a study in 2023 found that Black patients were 25% more likely than white patients to receive only non-opioid painkillers such as ibuprofen, which is available over the counter. This disparity has pushed many Black adults to prayer as a coping mechanism for pain or to self-medicate. Technological tools can help the Black community to overcome these obstacles in the following ways:

Address healthcare disparities: Tech tools are easily accessible. Consequently, they remove the barrier to pain management access, giving us more control over our health.
Expands access to care: Tech tools increase the access to pain management and lowers the cost of getting long-term care for chronic pain. Also, it eliminates the mistrust and stereotypes Black patients often encounter in healthcare systems.
Lowers the reliance on medication: Long-term reliance on medication has negative consequences. Patients suffering from chronic pain can reduce this reliance by turning to alternative tech tools.
Leads to increased healthcare literacy: Some tech tools offer personalized tips that helps us to make informed decision about our health.
Build trust: The use of tech tools can help patients to become more comfortable with other in-hospital professional therapies for pain management.

5 Tech Alternatives for Effective Pain Management

There is an emerging wave of technological devices for pain management. Unlike medications, these interventions are noninvasive and don’t cause the side effects associated with drug therapies, making them a great alternative. Here are five tools to consider:

#1. Massage gun

Muscle pain can easily be tackled using handheld deep tissue massage guns. They usually come with adjustable heads and different speed settings, allowing you to target the pain point to relieve stress. They also promote blood flow, which is important for recovery.

#2. TENS muscle and nerve massager

Adults battling with chronic pain associated with nerves, muscles, and arthritis can use the transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) device to alleviate the pain and improve their quality of life. It comes with an app for adjustable treatment times. Auvon rechargeable TENS unit comes with electrodes that can be placed on different areas simultaneously.

#3. Heating pad

Heating is one of the noninvasive techniques used for pain relief because it increases blood flow to the muscles and eases stiffness. Smart wearable heating pads are designed for back pain relief and come with a remote for regulating the temperature. It can also be remotely controlled using the connected app. Magic Gel Ice Pack can deliver both hot and cold therapy.

#4. Posture Corrector Trainer

Back pain is often due to bad posture. The posture corrector trainer helps to strengthen back and core muscles, which stimulates better blood flow for overall well-being. The Upright Go 2 Premium comes with app support for personalized daily training sessions. The app also enables you to track your progress.

#5. Health apps

Apps like getUBetter offer step-by-step guidance and exercises for the relief of various joint, bone, and muscle conditions, including shoulder and neck pain. The app creates a personalized recovery plan and will advise the patient when to seek professional help. Others like Tepy use an AI-driven approach to manage muscle pain.

Adults in our community can rely on these tools to overcome the stereotypes and treatment disparity that exists in the healthcare system. Most importantly, these tech tools offer targeted interventions that are instrumental for long-term wellness. While we recommend these tools, their use should never substitute scheduling regular checkups with a qualified healthcare practitioner.

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