Engagement in an mHealth-Guided Exercise Therapy Program Is Associated With Reductions in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Abstract

ContextChronic musculoskeletal pain costs the US $980 billion annually. Conservative treatments are the criterion standard, but scalable methods of treatment remain to be evaluated.ObjectiveThe aim of the study is to determine the effects of pain reduction and the perceived benefits of an mHealth exercise therapy program.DesignThis is a retrospective observational study on data from 3109 people (18–98, 49% female) with musculoskeletal pain in an mHealth exercise program. Presession pain was measured via 11-point numeric rating scale and nonstandardized single-item questions for work and quality of life; all were analyzed using mixed-effects models.ResultsBy 11 sessions, there was an estimated a 2.09-point decrease in average numeric rating scale pain levels. There was an average percent increase of approximately 0.7 points for work life and quality of life (tdf=6,632= 12.06,P< 0.001). User engagement was high; 46% of participants were performing more than one session per day, and 88% were engaging within a week, indicating the feasibility of the deployment of an mHealth exercise app.ConclusionsAn mHealth exercise program was associated with significant decrease in pain and increased perceived benefits in a large population. These findings serve as preliminary findings of the feasibility for mHealth exercise interventions as scalable tools to improve chronic musculoskeletal pain outcomes.