Pain is a part of life but a very unpleasant one. If you are in pain you can take pain relieving medication but they might also be harmful especially when they are taken over a longer period of time. Therefore here a list of alternative solutions that might be able to help you next time you’re in pain.
Thimble is a pain relief patch developed by Thimble Bioelectronics for the treatment of (chronic) pain. The patch is applied directly to the area where you feel discomfort. It uses low voltage electrical stimulation to alleviate certain types of pain. Thimble has also been a finalist of WT | Innovation World Cup 2012. A similar approach is coming from a company called Quell.
Valedo offers a pair of sensors that helps you strengthen muscles involved with lower back pain. You just attach one sensor to the chest and the other one to a lower back area. By using the accompanying app you can play video games and work out at the same time. Valedo has been designed to target unique movements, incorporated into 45 therapeutic exercises. Who would have thought physiotherapy can be fun!
Phillips has designed Blue Touch Pain Relief Patch, for relieving muscular back pain. The device uses LED light for inducing production of nitric oxide in your skin. This improves blood circulation which results in pain relief.
Cur is a small wearable for relieving your pain. It can be used on any part of your body at any given time. It uses TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) and it works by sending electrical pulses to your brain via electrodes placed on your skin. These electrical pulses confuse your nerves and cancel out the pain signal which means you feel pain relief in seconds.
Lumo Back is not necessarily for getting rid of pain but it is really good for prevention. The tiny clip monitors your posture, tracks how many steps you take, how long you sit, and how you sleep. It vibrates whenever you are slouching which is a great way for reminding you to keep your back in a good position at all times.
There are not that many pain relief wearables on the market, yet. However, this is a really interesting area for wearable companies to focus on. We would like to see more of these product solutions in the future!
