Breaking the cycle of pain – Kaia Health and Beurer collaborate to tackle back pain

Whether it's sitting down for long periods of time, placing excessive or incorrect strain on your back, moving too little, or stress – the cause of back pain can often be found in our everyday lives. The Munich-based start-up Kaia Health has developed a medical app designed to effectively tackle chronic back pain. Beurer is taking part with an exclusive bundle of products, and is adding selected heat and TENS devices to its comprehensive range.

Kaia Health founder Konstantin Mehl and his team have based their work on multi-modal therapy, and have developed special movement and relaxation exercises for use at home, designed to help reduce back problems. "Patients with chronic pain often have to go through a wealth of therapies. Painkillers or operations are quickly advised, despite the fact that the latest pain research recommends an interdisciplinary approach. Our app helps patients to conveniently relieve pain at home alongside medical treatment – in a natural way, without any medication or invasive procedures. That is why we are delighted to be working with a renowned health specialist like Beurer," adds Konstantin.

How does multi-modal pain therapy work?

Multi-modal pain therapy is a scientifically proven therapy concept based on the assumption that chronic back pain is caused by a complex combination of physical, psychological and social factors. For this reason, a holistic treatment approach is required, involving close interdisciplinary collaboration between doctors, psychologists and exercise therapists. In addition to various strategies for coping with pain, the focus is also on imparting knowledge about the illness. However, therapy units are rare, and the treatment is expensive.

What does the Kaia app offer?

The Kaia Health team has worked together with leading pain specialists to launch a digital therapy solution. The Kaia app is certified as a medical device and combines exercise training with relaxation and breathing techniques, which can reduce back pain when used every day over several weeks. Users are able to create a tailored training plan from 160 exercises to suit their fitness and pain level. There is also a virtual coach who explains the exercises in short videos. After the training, users are able to evaluate the session and adjust it further to suit their specific needs. An expert chat also provides background information on back pain, as well as tips on potential treatments and how to prevent pain.

Heat and TENS products designed to relieve pain

Back pain is an indicator of over-stimulation. The muscles tighten and their circulation becomes worse. However, using the right devices can help to boost the success of the treatment. Beurer offers a wide range of products designed to promote circulation using heat or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), relieve tension and reduce pain. As part of the cooperation with Kaia Health, anyone buying the HK 49 Cosy back heat pad, the EM 38 TENS back belt and the EM 49 digital TENS/EMS device will in future receive a voucher code enabling them to use the Kaia app free of charge for three months. The product package will be exclusively available via Amazon from December 2018.

About Kaia Health

The Munich-based start-up Kaia Health was founded in 2016. The Kaia app is generally targeted at anyone with back pain, but in particular those with chronic or recurrent back pain. It is based on multi-modal pain therapy. The structure and content of the app were developed in cooperation with employees from two pain centres of national importance in Germany: the Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Schmerztherapie (ZIS) [Centre for Interdisciplinary Pain Therapy] at the Klinikum rechts der Isar university hospital in Munich, and the Algesiologikum MVZ in Munich. The relaxation exercises are based on the concept of mindfulness meditation in line with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Kaia has had the CE mark as a class I medical device since September 2016. The app is available for iOS and Android. There is a free 7-day trial of the program. A subscription costs €34.99 for 3 months, €59.99 for 6 months, or €95.99 for 12 months. Further information is available at www.kaia-health.com.