Chronic pain can be defined as the type of pain extending over a long period of time, generally over 12 weeks. It can be caused by acute trauma or appear as a result of nerve damage, persisting for months or even years. This type of pain can have numerous underlying causes, being difficult to treat and having a negative impact on the overall quality of life.
Often referred to as the “invisible illness”, chronic pain can be hard to identify. Tracking symptoms, recalling pain and mood trends can be forgotten. In the moment all you can think about is the pain you are feeling, or trying to find ways to manage it.
Sometimes living with chronic pain can be disheartening. You are no longer able to do the things you love. The simplest of task are more difficult or not as enjoyable. You might feel like you no longer have control over the things you do. This is where a tracker app can be handy to help you take control.
Chronic pain symptoms include fatigue, burning pains, trouble sleeping, etc. These symptoms are quite general if you think about it. However, persistent symptoms can be an indication of chronic pain. Using health apps to monitor these symptoms can help you and your doctor identify chronic illness.
CareClinic can be used as a chronic pain tracker app It is one of the most useful resources available for those suffering from conditions associated with this kind of pain. The application allows you to keep track of your pain history and communicate this information to your treating physician.
CareClinic Pain Tracker or Diary for managing chronic pain
In a lot of cases, chronic pain cannot actually be treated but rather kept under control. The CareClinic app will allow you to create a self-care action plan, where you will have all of your medical information gathered under one roof. This includes medication, diet, physical activities, and therapies. You can review all of that information with your doctor and make the necessary adjustments/changes to your treatment plan.
Imagine a typical visit to your doctor. You will probably have a limited amount of time to describe the symptoms you have been experiencing. The doctor will want to know how bad your pain is, where it is localized and how it actually feels. They might also inquire about the effects of medication.
Given the fact that you won’t have too much time to recall all those details, you might end up concentrating on the symptoms you are experiencing at that moment. These will not offer an accurate reflection of your pain history. By using CareClinic’s app as a chronic pain app, you will be able to overcome this problem and present your doctor with the necessary information.
Recording your symptoms is an efficient way of tracking your condition. A chronic pain tracker ensures that your doctor is aware of your condition and can connect you to the right resources. Journaling in this manner can help you be more aware about your condition. It can help you understand better what factors improve or worsen your symptoms. Journaling is useful in helping you self-reflect about your condition.
Additionally, there are many added benefits related to using a chronic pain tracker. Let us explore some the features related to the CareClinic app below.
What are the benefits of using CP management app?
The app is simple to use and it allows you to keep track of various pain parameters. It will also offer an objective analysis of the diary entries, compiling health reports you can further communicate to your doctor. If you have entered your medication into the app, it will even use advanced algorithms to show any potential negative interactions between them.
Chronic pain is a complex notion and there are a lot of factors associated with it. What makes CareClinic the best app for chronic pain? Well, it allows you to track a diverse number of pain metrics, if you need to track and monitor acute pain that can be done with CareClinic as well. You can use it to record and observe a pattern of pain triggers, to describe your pain in detail and to rate the intensity of the pain.
The app allows you to develop a health diary, with journal notes regarding the duration and location of the pain, treatments taken (including medication) and even onset speed. You can use it to enter your mental state, level of physical activity and bowel movements.
Add the sleep history to determine a connection between your pain and lack of sleep. Use the app to record bowel movements, blood pressure and body weight, as well as other health measurements you might find useful. You can record additional symptoms, weather conditions that may affect your general status and treatment milestones.
Do I really need to track my chronic pain?
If you are suffering from chronic pain, you might also be confused about what is happening to you. In order to understand your medical problems, you need to document them first. Chronic management apps – can help you do just that. CareClinic is a resource that can help you get the best possible perspective on your condition.
You can use the app to record details about your condition on a regular basis. With the help of the pain trackers, you can actually develop a pain diary and identify certain patterns regarding your overall health. The diary can be customized as you desire, as you are allowed to add any information you might find useful.
The health diary app can help to analyze your reports. These reports can help to monitor your progress and keep you on track. You can correlate with your medication, activity and other factors to compare parallels. The health diary is customizable and versatile, making it easy to adapt according to your need.
Various reports can be developed based on your entries
Data analysis is perhaps one of the best features that CareClinic has to offer. Using your entries from the health diary, the app will compile a report that can be further shared with your treating physician. The report can either be used as a virtual document or in its printed version.
This report might contain graphs, shedding light on the characteristics of your pain over a given period of time. By communicating the results of this report to your doctor, you will actually improve the medical relationship and reach new solutions regarding your treatment. This is one of the main reasons patients use a chronic pain tracker app. It will reveal information regarding pain level fluctuations, usage of different medications and underlying conditions (as well as how these influence your chronic pain).
The report will demonstrate an objective overview of your pain. You have the possibility to rate the pain throughout your day, using a scale from 1 to 10.
This attribution will allow you to understand the pattern of chronic pain and see the exact triggers behind it. You can also use the app to see major events that have had an influence on your pain; for example, a major surgery that was successful (progress monitoring).
The report created can be used to compare different periods and analyze your chronic pain accordingly. You will easily notice the changes in the pain metrics and be able to understand the factors contributing to them. For instance, you might have changed your medication, tried a new therapy or even had surgery. Both you and your treating physician will have a better idea of how your condition changed from one period to the other.
The health calendar, an interesting feature to benefit from
The health calendar can be a valuable tool when it comes to managing diverse aspects related to chronic pain. It can remind you of doctor appointments, provide information on treatment adherence and help you access journal entries with ease.
With the help of advanced filters, you can browse through the different symptoms and see specific treatment changes. As the calendar is interactive, you can return to previous entries with ease and see how you adhered to the treatment plan. You can add notes directly on the calendar, finding it easier to cope with everything that has to be achieved with regard to your condition.
A health calendar also works to keep you progressing on your health journey. Since it is quite customizable, you can add and connect your other concerns on the health app. This allows your goals to be measurable and encourages you to be committed. You can also refer back to past treatments to measure how they influence your pain management.
Medical reminders help you stay on the right track
When you suffer from chronic pain, you might find it difficult to keep track of everything that has to be done. If you feel like you cannot handle it all, you might also begin to experience pressure and stress, which can make the pain worse.
CareClinic serves as an excellent medical reminder and helps you stay in check with everything, including medication, doctor appointments and so on.
You can set daily reminders for upcoming appointments and medication to be taken in your chronic pain tracker app. The app allows you to enter daily/weekly treatments, the dose of your pain medication and even refill reminders. This will ensure that you will always have the treatment available; the reminders can be sent through the e-mail, appearing as notifications on your phone.
Reminders are an excellent tool in helping you monitor progress. You are able to manage your treatments and medications in an organized manner. Never worry about missing a check-in appointment or recalling whether or not you took your medications. Setting reminders can help you keep track of your routine efficiently.
What are the causes behind chronic pain?
Chronic pain affects around 20% of adults in the United States. Small injuries to the bone, muscle and joints can lead to chronic pain. Autoimmune diseases and chronic diseases can trigger chronic pain. Prior injury or damage to your joints can also cause chronic pain. While there are many factors behind chronic pain, you can find a correlation to the nervous system.
It is important to understand that chronic pain can appear as a result of nerve damage, as it often happens in neuropathies. For example, people diagnosed with diabetes can present such health problems. However, chronic pain is encountered in those with disc hernias, arthritis, gout and fibromyalgia.
Migraines are associated with chronic pain, preventing one from functioning normally or engaging in everyday activities. Life-threatening conditions, such as cancer, are always accompanied by pain. In the last stages, when the patient also suffers from metastasis and the treatment is only palliative, chronic pain can become severe and the patient will begin to rely solely on morphine.
Using health apps like CareClinic has many benefits. They help you to play an active role in managing your health. You as a patient, are better able to understand your body and what works for you. Additionally, it allows you to give accurate information regarding your symptoms to your doctor. In turn, the doctor can understand your condition better. Healthcare apps also provide a space for you to keep track of your medication and treatments.
How is chronic pain managed?
There are many different types of pain management. Pain medication, physical therapy, aquatic therapy are some examples of pain management. Depending on the type of pain you are experiencing, the treatments vary. For some, incorporating physical activity such as yoga, swimming or cycling are effective management techniques. That being said, pain medication is often best to treat chronic pain.
Chronic pain is managed through pain medication, which can be adjusted according to the level of pain experienced by the patient. The treating physician will monitor the patient constantly, as some medication can have harmful side effects, especially when administered on a long-term basis. Also, many of the medication recommended for severe pain presents a high risk of addiction.
Possible therapies
Psychotherapy, either in the form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, can help the patient develop coping strategies and find a way to move forward. Relaxation techniques, including muscle relaxation and mindfulness, are definitely helpful.
Physical therapy is another great solution when it comes to chronic pain. It can help one maintain flexibility and it prevents the condition from becoming worse. The physical therapist might also recommend other forms of activity, including swimming or hydrotherapy. Walking remains one of the easiest forms of activity to be engaged in, including when suffering from chronic pain.
Incorporating physical activity into your daily routine can help loosen stiff joints and tightened muscles. A lot of times these joints and muscles contribute to chronic pain. By introducing activities that help to increase blood flow and movement, chronic pain can be managed. Good blood circulation encourages white blood cells to flow and target immune responses. It can also reduce coldness in the joints and provide warmth, which eases aches and pains.
Of course, it is always important to address the underlying condition and find a suitable treatment (where possible). Complementary therapies, including acupuncture, massage therapy and osteopathy, can help with the management of chronic pain.
Check out our short video about how you can use CareClinic to track chronic pain:
Food for thought
Who would have though that your pain receptors and tickle sensations were connected? No surprise though since both are related to your nervous system. Sometimes when your body is healing you might feel an itching sensation. Well, that just means that your white blood cells are hard at work at healing your wounds. A tickle or tingling sensation can also be indication of irritation.
If your body feel irritated or uneasy, these receptors will work to alert you. Keeping this in mind, you can become more aware of the signs your body exhibits.
Some remarks on chronic pain tracking apps
One of the main purposes of the CareClinic app is to guide the patient on their healthcare progress. As you saw, pain is your body’s way of alerting you of a health concern. Although common, unattended pain can lead to chronic illness. At first symptoms can come and go. They may not be as apparent or obvious as is seen in other conditions. However, if not treated, the symptoms can be persistent, leading to longer health concerns.
Looking into health tracking apps like the CareClinic app can help you with your chronic pain tracking. They provide a safe space for you to store your information and records. There is an added feature that connects you to a physician assistant in case you have concerns. The app is also easy to access and can be used by you, the patient or by the caretaker. Remember health care apps are not meant to replace your in-person visits with your doctor. The purpose of health apps are to help you create a more informative session with your doctor.
