We use smartphone apps to find new restaurants, look for a job and manage our money—why not improve our posture, too? California-based LUMOback’s smartphone app aims to do just that by using the app in conjunction with small, wireless sensors that will monitor a person’s posture in real time.
While wearing a thin, flexible sensor, users will have their posture monitored throughout the day. When that person is slouching, the sensor will send gentle vibrations to the user’s lower back as a reminder to sit up straight. The mobile app will also monitor the user’s posture throughout the day, and will offer customized tips to help each user improve his or her back health. For a closer look at what LUMOback’s app will do, check out this video.
After all, sitting up straight isn’t just something your mother told you to do while growing up. Nearly 80 percent of Americans suffer from back pain at some point in their lives, a condition that’s also the number one cause of job-related disability—and one that’s gotten worse in the past few decades due to our tendency to sit for hours at a time as a result of increasingly sedentary lifestyles. By taking steps to improve your posture and maintain good sitting and standing habits, you won’t just feel better in the short-term—you’ll be poised (no pun intended) for better long-term back health, too.
LUMOback’s app is still in development, and the company plans to release it later this year. If you’d like a chance to be one of the first users to test the app, sign up with the company.
As app developers in our own right and with a team that’s got years of experience in healthcare and health management, it’s fascinating to see the integration of technology into care and/or preventative care. And it’s our prediction that apps like LUMOback are only the beginning.
What about you? What’s your take on LUMOback’s solution to help prevent back pain? Would you add the app to your list of mobile healthcare tools?
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