Healthy Mama || Review
Living with pain can be a real struggle and although I have it great compared to a lot of people, I have had times where it has really had a hugely negative effect on my mental health and it can all feel a bit overwhelming.
As anyone that has any kind of pain issue will know, the doctors tend to want to just fob us off with more and more pain killers, which although short term can be helpful, they aren't good for us long term and can make things a lot worse. What we really need to do is truly understand pain, why we are feeling it, where it comes from and what we can do to control it naturally without the use of medicine or expensive treatments. This is where the Pathways Pain App comes in...
Nowadays, there's an app for everything and needless to say, pain management can be helped by a simple app too. The Pathways app is made by fellow pain sufferers, with heaps of knowledge and advice to get us all clued up, understanding our pain better and coping with life a little easier. I was recently offered the chance to try out the app for review and I thought I'd share how I got on for anyone else that may be struggling too.
Pathways has some great reviews and since launching in 2018, it seems to have already made a huge impact in the health world. This app is designed for people with longstanding pain issues, chronic pain sufferers and those that receive very little long term help elsewhere that actually works. Although the app can help with any kind of pain, they have proven results from people with issues such as;
• Back pain
• Headaches and migraines
• Neck Pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
• Shoulder Pain
• Joint Pains
• Sciatica
• Tinnitus
• Digestive Issues
The app itself takes you on an interactive journey, with sessions lasting 2 - 20 minutes long, we can learn all about pain science, start to understand what could be making our pain worse and notice any patterns in our behaviour and suffering. This app is said to actually help reduce pain from just a few weeks, even for those that have dealt with pain for many years. The app doesn't advise on anything like medications, but instead focuses on the mental and subconscious aspects, teaching us to gain control back of our bodies and ultimately reduce the pain we feel each day. The app itself is free to download on Android and iOS, with a subsequent subscription should you choose to continue learning with Pathways.
My experience with the Pathways Pain App
I have been using the Pathways Pain app occasionally over the past six weeks, as I've had little time with the school holidays and kids refusing to sleep, but I have managed to work my way through a lot of content and I've really enjoyed learning more, especially through the quizzes which are my favourite part. The app itself is super easy to use, everything is well explained and it's an enjoyable app to use and fit in where you get a few minutes. You can also log your pain levels for the day as so you can see how you're doing and if you're getting a benefit from using Pathways, which is a great feature. Starting with a thorough consultation so that we can get the best from the app, we are then led onto the sessions which unlock as you go, with a quiz on each chapter. Another aspect I love is the 'me time' sessions, which help us relax with meditations, sounds and advice when in need. You can also create your own 'playlist' of your favourite sessions to access them easily when you need to.
The app is great because by learning all about pain and the fear we hold with it, we are able to reduce its impact, as we tend to fear the unknown, not something we know inside out and pain is no different. I completed the app right up until the point of having to pay and I must say I've really enjoyed the sessions so far. Although I haven't noticed a change in my pain levels, perhaps because it's such early days and my pain can vary so much day to day as it is, but I have really enjoyed using this app. For me, the costs are a little high in my current situation (even though a pain free life is priceless!), but I'd highly recommend giving this app a download if you're a pain sufferer as it's so well thought out and easy to follow, giving you a much greater idea of why you may have pain and how to learn to control it better.
The app is available to download right now and you can learn more over at the Pathways App Website too.
