Use of Wearable Tech to Increase Physical Activity in Inpatient Rehabilitation for Patients With Chronic Pain

Use of Wearable Tech to Increase Physical Activity in Inpatient Rehabilitation for Patients With Chronic Pain

Use of Wearable Tech to Increase Physical Activity in Inpatient Rehabilitation for Patients With Chronic Pain

The aim of this project is to evaluate whether use of wearable tech increases levels of physical activity in patients participating in inpatient rehabilitation for chronic pain.

Chronic pain is a vast problem with profound consequences for individuals and societies. Exercise and physical activity is an important part of the treatment for chronic pain. Use of wearable tech might be a way to help facilitate physical activity in patients with chronic pain. Here it will be evaluated whether use of wearable tech giving feedback about the user's activity level increases physical activity in patients participating in inpatient rehabilitation for chronic pain. The control group will be wearing the same wearable tech as the intervention group, but they will not receive any feedback about their activity level. The feedback application will give participants in the intervention group information about the number of PAI they earn each week. PAI is short for personal activity Intelligence. You earn PAI points every time your heart rate increases: The higher heart rate, the faster you earn PAI. Previous research have shown that those who achieve 100 PAI or more every week over time live for an average of more than eight years longer than others. During the study all participants will take part in a traditional inpatient rehabilitation program. The program consist of two periods at the rehabilitation center with two weeks at home in-between. The study will take place during the two periods at the senter and the period at home. Time spent on physical activity and number of earned PAI's will be counted during the period at home.

This group will be wearing an activity measurement device (wristband) and receive feedback about their activity level through a mobile application while taking part in a traditional inpatient rehabilitation program for patients with chronic pain.

This group will be wearing the same the activity measurement device as the intervention group, but they will not receive any feedback about their activity level. They will not have access to the mobile application. They will take part in the same rehabilitation program as the intervention group.

An armwrist device measuring physical activity level. The user will receive information about their physical activity level through their smartphone.

submaximal oxygen uptake measured by the Åstrand bicycle test (described in Textbook of work physiology by Astrand from 1986)

Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). VAS is a straight horizontal line where the ends are defined as the extreme limits from the left (0-no pain) to the right (100-worst imaginable pain). The patient is asked to mark his pain level on the line between the two endpoints. The distance between 'no pain at all' and the mark then defines the subject's pain.

Inclusion Criteria: taking part in inpatient rehabilitation at Unicare Helefort Rehabilitation center for chronic pain. Exclusion Criteria: not having a smartphone (will not be able to access the mobile application). using a wheelchair (the technology will be not able to measure activity correctly)