Pain management can involve more than active pharmacologic treatment. During a session at ACR Convergence 2023, experts addressed the benefits of patient self-management for pain, how it works with clinical care and the role of technology.
Virtual Reality Therapy Is Feasible for Rheumatology Patients
A recent pilot study explores the feasibility of virtual reality-based pain interventions for people with rheumatic conditions.1 Although the work is in its early stages, it may someday represent a new non-pharmacological tool for patients with chronic pain. VR for Treatment R. Swamy Venuturupalli, MD, FACR, is an associate clinical professor of medicine at the…
Addicted to Learning: Can We Teach as Well (& Enthrallingly!) as Fortnite?
My nephew is an addict. These words do not come easily to me, but I have come to accept them as true. In retrospect, I should have recognized the telltale signs: He stopped picking up the phone when I call. He disappears and then re-emerges hours later, seemingly having done nothing. He has lost interest…
Tech Talk: Smartphone Apps, Online Games May Encourage Healthy Behaviors in Rheumatology Patients
Customized text messages and virtual reality technology can help health professionals prompt patients to take medications and get exercise