Apps and tools to help you manage your chronic pain.
-
Mental Health and Wellness Tools
- Mindshift-CBT – A self-help anxiety relief app with guided meditations, activity logs, videos, audio clips and more.
- Pain BC Wellness and Support Groups – Pain Support and Wellness Groups offer an opportunity for people living with persistent pain to meet regularly online and build a community of support while learning about pain, pain management and coping strategies.
- Pain BC - Live Plan Be: Depression – Contains articles on depression and mental health issues for people in pain.
- Pain BC - Live Plan Be: Emotional well-being – Contains articles on the impacts of chronic pain on a range of human emotions and thoughts like stress, anger, spirituality, grief and loss.
- https://cmha.ca/mental-health-meter - Canadian Mental Health Association: Mental health meter, brief screening tool.
- Wellness Together Canada – This is a mental health and substance use website funded by the Government of Canada to support people across Canada and Canadians living abroad in both official languages.
- BounceBack: Reclaim Your Health program – This program is designed to help adults with mild to moderate depression, low mood or stress. Delivered online or over the phone with a coach, you will get access to tools that will support you on your path to mental wellness.
- ACTivate Your Life – Free on-line self-help course from Wales Public Health site. It is meant to be a beginning step for those who are looking to develop skills and actions to improve mental health and well-being.
-
Relaxation and Meditation Tools and Apps
- Healthline BC – Learn deep breathing.
- The Mindfulness App – A guided mindfulness meditation app.
- Insight Timer – The app features guided meditations, music and talks for stress, sleep, and anxiety.
- Calm – A guided meditation app for sleep, stress, and anxiety
- Learn Mindfulness – Free online mindfulness courses and plans for beginners.
- Pain BC - Live Plan Be: Mind-body therapies – Free online articles, webinars, and videos on mind-body therapies such as breathing techniques, mindfulness, relaxation exercises, visualisation and meditation
-
Pain Education Tools and Apps
- Paintrainer is a free interactive, online program that teaches people living in pain strategies to effectively manage their pain.
- Retrain Pain – Learn a science based approach to overcome chronic pain through self-directed online modules
- Tame The Beast – Learn to retrain your brain.
- Pain Management Network – Develop skills and strategies to manage your pain.
- Kelty’s Key – Online modules on coping with chronic pain.
- Pain BC – Live Plan Be: Toolbox – Pain toolbox including online and community resources for pain management.
- The Pain Truth App – The app consists of a series of videos and activity logs to help empower people to regain their sense of control and their quality of life:
- Pathways Pain Relief App – The app help you change the way your brain perceives pain through various scientific and proven methods.
- Science of Pain - The mysterious science of pain.
- Understanding Pain – Pain: A Quick Review.
- Pain in Your Nervous System Video – A video explaining Neuroplasticity.
-
Movement and Activity Tools
- YMCA offers a series of videos for gentle seated exercises (Gold Series) with a focus on those who have limited mobility or have been inactive.
- YMCA Seated 20 minute exercises
- YMCA seated upper body exercises 15 minutes
- YMCA Chair Yoga 20 minutes
- Pain BC: Gentle Movement – Gentle Movement sessions teach how us to feel safe to move again. Live streaming sessions are available through Pain BC. Each session is led by physiotherapists and other therapeutic movement professionals and are designed to help people with persistent pain learn to feel safe to move again. Topics include breath awareness and regulation, body tension regulation, and movement and relaxation techniques in both seated and standing positions. Each class is approximately 50-65 minutes in duration.
-
Nutrition Tools
- Healthy Families BC: Nutrition basics – Tips for healthy eating, sodium sense and meal planning
- Pain BC - Live Plan Be: Nutrition– Impact of nutrition on chronic pain.
- Canada’s Food Guide – Follow the recommended guidelines for a healthy balanced diet that includes all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients for vitality and health.
-
Pacing and Prioritization Tools and Apps
- My Pain Diary – An app used to track your pain on a day to day basis.
- Pain BC: Live Plan Be Pain Plan – Set goals to make positive change.
- Pain BC: Pacing – Tips on how to pace and increase activities.
- Pain BC - Live Plan Be: Everyday living – Range of articles that cover practical advice on adapting your home environment to make work better for you.
- Pain Health - Advice and tips on how you can approach musculoskeletal pain and form a co-management plan through goals and pacing
- London Pain Clinic –Video and article on pacing and chronic pain
-
Sleep Wellness Tools and Apps
- Kelty's Key - Sleep Diary – Use a sleep diary to document your sleep patterns so you and your health care provider can determine the problem.
- Pain BC - Live Plan Be: Sleep - Webinars, articles and podcasts about pain and sleep
- Center For Clinical Intervention – Easy to read handouts about sleep, insomnia and steps you can try.
- Vancouver Anxiety – A video on CBTi, a form of cognitive behavioural therapy which was specifically developed for treating insomnia. It is recommended as the first-line treatment of insomnia.
-
Financial Tools