The Potential of Wearable, Modular Devices in Monitoring Functional Clinical Metrics in Patients Suffering from Chronic Pain

Abstract

Purpose of review: This review assesses the role of wearable technologies in pain management, emphasizing their capability to transcend subjective pain evaluations with objective functional outcome tracking. We explore the types and veracity of health metrics wearable devices track, illustrating how this technological evolution can significantly enhance patient care in the context of chronic pain prevention and management.

Recent findings: The advancements in modular wearable technology offer new avenues to track a variety of health outcomes, including aerobic capacity, physical activity, stress, and sleep quality. This provides objective measurements that can aid in the management of chronic conditions and can offer a more comprehensive assessment of a patient's pain and function. Although the initial approach to pain management that emphasized pain as the fifth vital sign had unintended devastating consequences, leveraging wearable technology for objective outcomes tracking presents an opportunity to optimize pain management strategies. Wearable technologies capture functional metrics that provide insight into many aspects of the biopsychosocial model of pain. Utilizing function as the key performance indicator has the potential to improve treatment outcomes and, ultimately, patient care.

Keywords: Data; Functional metrics; Outcomes tracking; Pain medicine; Wearable technologies.