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PainGuru

An app for people with lower back pain or hip pain.

PainGuru	By Giresh Kanji Apps Limited
	Features Education and information Get the app: (external link) (external link)
Country of origin	Aotearoa New Zealand
Clinical review	Read a clinical review of this app.
Security and privacy	Does the app: collect medical information? Yes (can collect information, however based on the privacy policy, this is only used if the user chooses to share this with the doctor) require a login? No have password protection? No have a privacy policy? Yes require internet access? Yes Read more safety tips around health apps.
Cost	The standard version of the app is free. There is an option for a paid upgrade to “PainGuru Plus”. Unfortunately the link for this seems to be broken on both Apple and Android versions
Advertisements	This app contains no ads.

What does the app do?

The Pain Guru app is designed for individuals with lower back pain. The app helps with confirming a diagnosis, and provides information on different treatment options.

The user is able to go through a list of questions that ask about the pain location, intensity and nature of symptoms. This will give some guidance about a diagnosis.

Different treatment options for each diagnosis are presented, in both text and short video form (approximately one minute each).

This appears to have been designed for individuals to get more information on other specific areas, such as investigations. However the Pro plus link seems to be broken.

For the complete app description, go to Google Play(external link), App Store(external link) or, for a more detailed review, see Reviews.

PROS	CONS
✔ Detailed questions around diagnosis. Based on purely subjective interviewing alone, these questions are likely to have a degree of accuracy for helping to recognise a potential diagnosis.	✘ Following diagnosis, all treatment options are listed ranging from exercises through to fusion surgery. There is no guidance as to why one might be recommended over another. This could potentially cause a lot of worry or anxiety for a user. ✘ Advanced version of the app is broken. ✘ The treatment options for each injury can be confusing for a user, because the most recognised treatment options are not necessarily written at the top of the screen, eg, for disc pain the first option that is mentioned is traction. ✘ Some of the opinions from the app about treatment modalities would not be widely accepted by the entire medical profession, eg, “core strength is a myth”. ✘ It is unclear when someone needs to go on to get specialist advice, or face to face input. Even a recommendation on when to use the virtual consultation as part of the author’s listings on his website would be helpful.

PROS

CONS

✔ Detailed questions around diagnosis. Based on purely subjective interviewing alone, these questions are likely to have a degree of accuracy for helping to recognise a potential diagnosis.

✘ Following diagnosis, all treatment options are listed ranging from exercises through to fusion surgery. There is no guidance as to why one might be recommended over another. This could potentially cause a lot of worry or anxiety for a user.

✘ Advanced version of the app is broken.

✘ The treatment options for each injury can be confusing for a user, because the most recognised treatment options are not necessarily written at the top of the screen, eg, for disc pain the first option that is mentioned is traction.

✘ Some of the opinions from the app about treatment modalities would not be widely accepted by the entire medical profession, eg, “core strength is a myth”.

✘ It is unclear when someone needs to go on to get specialist advice, or face to face input. Even a recommendation on when to use the virtual consultation as part of the author’s listings on his website would be helpful.