Digital resources for pain management
A curated list of websites, mobile applications, videos, and blogs.
There are many great resources available to help patients and clinicians manage chronic pain — below is a curated list of useful websites, mobile applications, videos, and blogs.
Websites
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality — The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) mission is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable, and to work within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used.
American Migraine Foundation — A website with a mission to mobilize a community for patient support and advocacy, as well as drive and support impactful research that translates into advances for patients with migraine and other disabling diseases that cause severe head pain.
Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center — The Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center is a multidisciplinary center committed to improving the understanding and management of disorders distinguished by symptoms of chronic pain and fatigue.
Institute for Chronic Pain — The Institute for Chronic Pain is an educational and public policy think tank whose mission is to make pain management more effective by changing the culture of how chronic pain is treated. We engage in research, development, and promotion of scientifically accurate information related to the field of chronic pain management. We do so by bringing together thought leaders from around the world to provide academic-quality information that is approachable to all stakeholders in the field.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health — The mission of NCCIH is to define, through rigorous scientific investigation, the usefulness and safety of complementary and integrative health interventions and their roles in improving health and health care.
National Pain Strategy — The objectives of the National Pain Strategy aim to decrease the prevalence of pain across its continuum from acute to high-impact chronic pain and its associated morbidity and disability across the lifespan. The intent is to reduce the burden of pain for individuals, their families, and society as a whole.
Pain Management Network — This website is designed to help you gain a better understanding of your pain. The site contains information to enable you to develop skills and knowledge in the self management of your pain in partnership with your healthcare providers.
Patient Mind — Patient Mind Inc. provides education to improve dialogue during healthcare visits. The average face-time with a healthcare provider is less than eight minutes. These eight minutes are extremely important for the patient. When patients are educated prior to this interaction, they are more likely to understand and adhere to the prescribed treatment plan. The patient is also more prepared to discuss symptoms and their condition with confidence. This enables healthcare teams to get a better picture of the patient’s condition, which sets the groundwork for better treatment plans.
The Pain Toolkit — The Pain Toolkit Workshops are for healthcare professionals and people who live with persistent pain.
Chronic Pain Research Alliance — Mounting scientific evidence demonstrates significant rates of overlap among a cluster of prevalent poorly understood pain disorders that solely or predominantly affect women. The goal of CPRAlliance is to put an end to the neglect, dismissal and discrimination faced by these patients suffering from chronic pain, thereby improving their quality of life and medical care.
International Association for the Study of Pain — IASP brings together scientists, clinicians, health-care providers, and policymakers to stimulate and support the study of pain and to translate that knowledge into improved pain relief worldwide.
Medicare.gov Pain Management — This site provides information about Medicare coverage for pain management.
National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association — The National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association unites patients, policy makers, and healthcare, medical and scientific communities to transform lives through visionary support, advocacy, research and education of fibromyalgia and chronic pain illnesses.
National Patient Advocate Foundation — National Patient Advocate Foundation brings patient voices to health system delivery reform. We develop and drive initiatives promoting equitable access to affordable quality health care through policy action and public and private partnerships. Our primary objective is to prioritize the patient voice in health system delivery reform to achieve person-centered care.
Pain Out Loud — Educating and empowering those with pain to minimize drugs, injections and surgeries.
painACTION — The goal of painACTION is to help people improve their self-management of their pain condition. Written with the help of health educators, pain experts, and people dealing with pain, this site is a resource to come back to repeatedly.
Report on Pain Management Best Practices: Updates, Gaps, Inconsistencies, and Recommendations — The Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force Report emphasizes the importance of providing balanced, individualized, patient-centered pain management to ensure better clinical outcomes for pain that improve quality of life and functionality for patients.
American Chronic Pain Association — Since 1980, the ACPA has offered peer support and education in pain management skills to people with pain, family and friends, and health care professionals.
CDC: Know Your Options — Talk to your doctor about ways to manage your pain that do not involve prescription opioids. Some of these options may actually work better and have fewer risks and side effects.
Chronic Pain Resource Center — This collection of resources is to help patients with chronic pain, their families and providers who care for them. These include tools to help patients and their families to understand, monitor and manage their pain, as well as guidance on the safe use, storage and disposal of opioid medicines. It also includes education for families in the potentially life-saving role of preventing, identifying and treating medication overdose.
International Pain Foundation — The International Pain Foundation (iPain) is devoted to advancing access and quality care in order to help people suffering from a variety of muscular skeletal, inflammatory, neurological, emotional, degenerative and often rare conditions that involve chronic pain through education, awareness, and access to care projects.
Multiple Chronic Conditions Resource Center — This virtual resource center provides healthcare professionals, patients and policy makers with current updates on policy and practice for patients living with more than two chronic conditions — and associated symptoms.
Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force Report — Developed by a broad group of representatives and stakeholders, this report identifies gaps, inconsistencies, and updates and provides recommendations for best practices for managing acute and chronic pain.
painHEALTH — Empowering you to manage pain — Clinically supported information, tips, support and personal stories to help you manage musculoskeletal pain.
Patients Rising — Patients Rising is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support and education to people with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. We work with patients to advocate for access to the treatments, innovations and care they need.
US Pain Foundation — The mission of U.S. Pain Foundation is to empower, educate, connect, and advocate for people living with chronic conditions that cause pain. As a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to serving those who live with pain conditions and their care providers, U.S. Pain Foundation helps individuals find resources and inspiration.
The American Academy of Pain Medicine — Founded in 1983, AAPM is the medical specialty society representing physicians and their team members practicing in the field of pain medicine. The Academy is involved in education, training, advocacy, and research in the specialty of pain medicine. AAPM aims to be the recognized authority for appropriate and effective pain care through its knowledge, scholarship, and commitment. Propelled by members from all disciplines in pain, AAPM works to improve the study and treatment of pain.
PainEDU — PainEDU is an educational website for clinicians, teaching about pain assessment and management. This site is a comprehensive resource and is based on the latest scientific information about pain treatment.
Mobile applications
Curable — An app that aims to retrain the brain to process pain differently, to reduce symptoms and gain more control.
Manage My Pain — A digital solution that helps patients, doctors, & case managers measure, monitor, and manage pain.
PainScale — An app that aims to make pain management better for everyone through education, condition tracking, and personalized reports.
TracknShare — Track & Share Apps have been consistently awarded “best health tracker app” acclaim, providing extreme customization and powerful graphing options that enable users to explore their health data using graphical analyses in simple ways.
Acupressure: Heal Yourself — An easy to use massage guide
My Pain Diary — MY PAIN DIARY is an award winning app which makes it easy to track your pain & symptoms and report to your doctors.
WebMD Mobile Pain Coach — heck your symptoms, access drug & treatment information and more 24/7 from the most trusted brand in health information.
Chronic Pain Tracker — A complete pain diary app.
Headspace — Headspace is your guide to mindfulness for your everyday life.
Care Clinic — Asymptom tracker app which allows you to monitor your symptoms and your treatment goals, as well as your daily habits so you can notice patterns in your chronic pain. The app also allows you to create a plan, which tracks your medication, vitamins and minerals, any therapies you’re engaged in, and fitness and nutrition. You can even set reminders for appointments and medications times to keep you on track.
Pain Tracker and Diary — The app allows you to track and monitor pain levels in a very visual way, making it easy to navigate and understand. You can use the app to help yourself and your doctors be better informed, as well as to keep track of how well treatments are working.
Ouchie — Ouchie is a chronic pain treatment app which allows you to track your pain and create a personalized pain journey.
Flaredown — Flaredown supports all chronic pain and chronic illness conditions, allowing you to track your symptoms, monitor flares, and identify triggers. The app allows you to input your food choices, including food sensitivities. You’re able to track your medication, including dosage and side effects, which is particularly useful when testing a new medication.
Flowly — Flowly offers chronic pain and anxiety management tools to help you reduce your symptoms and aid in relaxation. You can use Flowly on your phone, or with a VR (virtual reality) headset and headset you can get with a subscription. The app combines VR and biofeedback to teach you relaxation techniques.
Videos
Tame the Beast — Professor Lorimer Moseley explains how pain works and explains new approaches to help reduce your pain.
The Mystery of Chronic Pain — Elliot Krane talks about the complex mystery of chronic pain and reviews the facts we’re just learning about how it works and how to treat it to help reduce your pain.
Understanding Pain in less than 5 minutes, and what to do about it! — This is a great, easy to follow video about chronic pain.
Blogs
Pathways Pain Relief Blog — 120 in-depth posts on all things chronic pain, written by chronic pain patients themselves, along with experts who share their insight. From understanding all available pain management techniques, to chronic pain recovery stories, how to live well despite pain, and so much more.
Practical Pain Management (PPM): Pain Stories & Solutions for the Chronic Pain Patient — This section of the popular pain management site was launched in 2011, to provide information and hope for chronic pain patients. They include a variety of posts from many authors, talking about the experience of living with chronic pain.
Very Well Health: Chronic Pain — This section of the popular health website provides medically reviewed posts on many topics of chronic pain, including treatments, new scientific breakthroughs, and guidance on pain management.
A Chronic Voice — This is a personal blog, founded and written by an amazing woman called Sheryl. She has experienced a wide range of chronic illnesses throughout her life. She now writes relatable, reassuring content to help others who are chronically ill to feel less alone and to be more informed. Her work aims to raise awareness and break down stigma.
Better Movement — Written by Todd Hargrove, an author and movement therapist, this website provides a range of articles on all things chronic pain, including pain science, treatment options, and of course, how to get your body moving. The benefits of exercise are well documented, and this blog provides insightful information for anyone who wants to know more about movement.
Pain Science — This site is founded and written by Paul Ingraham, a former massage therapist, a writer, and a pain patient. He focuses on making the science of pain accessible for everyone, whether a medical professional, a pain patient, or just someone who is interested in learning more.
