Chronic pain affects roughly 100 million Americans, and the pain management market is estimated to be about $635 billion a year. With so many people to treat and money to be made by finding new, safer treatment options, a number of different technology companies are jumping into the world of pain management.

One area that is of particular interest to these companies is wearables and how they can be used to combat and treat chronic pain. A recent study involving more than 1,600 people with distal and proximal chronic pain focused on the Quell wearable device. The wearable allowed patients to track their pain in real time, including changes in pain intensity and pain interference with sleep, activity and mood on an 11-point scale. Patients tracked these changes over the course of two months, and researchers analyzed the findings at the conclusion of the study.

But tracking wasn’t the only feature available with the wearable. The unit actually provided high-frequency transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation. Many patients found that when they wore the device and it was emitting signals, that their pain levels decreased.

“[We found] statistically and clinically significant decreases in pain interference with activity and mood” and “a clinically significant decrease in pain intensity and less pain interference with sleep,” researchers wrote.

Wearables and the Future of Chronic Pain Management

The quell device was only helpful for a select number of people dealing with certain types of chronic pain, but the technology behind the device is exciting. It’s like a hybrid Fitbit and TENS unit, and as the technology continues to progress, we may soon see wearables that can work to drown out pain signals in all different areas of the body.

We understand the science, but because pain is such an individualized issue, there’s no one-size-fits-all wearable for chronic pain. Opioids do a better job of controlling a wider type of pain, but they come with their own potential drawbacks, including potential addiction and dependence. Wearables do not present the problem of dependence, but the tricky part is getting them to impact the specific nerve pathway that is causing pain.

We need to keep investing money in these alternative treatment options and in pain management as a whole. It seems like we’re nearing a breakthrough, not just with wearables, but as a whole. Pain is a huge industry affecting tens of millions of people, so it’s going to draw attention and investments. The first company to develop a wearable or another opioid alternative that can reliably control certain types of widespread pain will set the bar and enjoy the spoils that come with it. This will lead to more investments, better technology, and hopefully, better non-opioid patient care options for chronic pain. We’re excited to see what the future holds.