The app has no direct effect, it's all about psychology. Which is not a bad thing, that type of help can be great for those of us living with chronic pain. Just don't expect a quick fix.
As Scotsman says, these apps deal with the pain in the brain. Which is no bad thing as that is where pain is felt. I know it sounds weird, but nerves from where we think the pain is coming from run up to the brain via the spinal cord, then there are various parts of the brain that process that pain; it decides where on the body map to put the pain, whether anything has to be done about it now (for example moving a hand away from a hot stove) and then finally sends a message to the conscious part of the brain and that is when we 'feel' the pain. Okay, that is a very simplified version of what happens, but hopefully that makes sense.
So there are ways that we can sot of fool the brain into changing the way it is thinking about pain. And that is what those apps try to do.
There is also the website Pain Toolkit that you could have a look at too. It has some free resources.
I have been using the curable app for nearly a year for PHN (post herpetic neuralgia) pain in my RH rib cage area following shingles in January 2019. I also participated in a 12 week Curable group. The Curable approach is based on the theory that once an acute pain has lasted for between 3-6 months anything physical has healed and it has become chronic pain which is neuroplastic in nature affecting the biopsychosocial aspects of your life.‘Treatment’ involves looking at these various aspects of your life to try to discover what is driving this. There are ‘recovery’ stories on the app and some of the 12 people who participated in the Curable group have had some success in dimming down their pain but, so far, I have not yet found any lasting benefit. There are lots of books now about neuroplastic pain and the bodymind approach. Alan Gordon’s book ‘The Way Out’ is what Curable is based on. You could also look at ‘The Pain Habit’ by Drew Coverdale thepainhabit.com who also has a FB group by the same name in which he posts lots of free short videos. Also anything by Gabor Mate especially’When the Body Says No’ and the Pain Champions FB group has a huge list of resources. Good luck!
Hi BertoBishopA very good friend of my uses Curable to help her deal with Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN). They were completely debilitated by TN and had all sorts of horrendous opioids and operations. Was sucking on Fentanyl lollies every few hours as well.
Using Curable and a lot of Pain Science Education (PSE), they are now an incredible inspiration to others of how taking things slowly, but positively can make a difference. It's not about ignoring the pain, but finding again all the things you enjoy, (and some new ones) to fill your life with something other than our total focus on our pain.
It's not easy, but I know they found Curable a tremendous help. So much so that last year they were able to complete a 300+ mile plus Pain Concern sponsored bike ride around Lincolnshire. More details can be found on the Flippin' Pain ( FP) website. FP is a Pain Science Education initiative that seeks to change we think about, talk about, and treat Persistent Pain. See flippinpain@co.uk
No problem. If you get time, I would have a look at the FREE webinar resources on flippinpain@co.uk They are all introduced by folks with genuine lived experience of living with persistent pain. Have scroll through and am sure you will connect with one of them. The information about how our brain's process pain are worth staying online to watch/listen. Prof Cormac Ryan is a blessing. It may help you better understand your own back pain, and live more comfortably too. Best of luck 🙂
Thank you for your responses, SeroNegArt. It is always encouraging to hear of people who have been using the techniques advocated for improving neuroplastic pain.
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