Background/Purpose: I was diagnosed with psoriasis when I was age 10 in 1986. At that time, my treatment plan consisted of regular application of Eucerin lotion, tar-based ointments, tanning beds, & frequent baths. Later I added corticosteroids into my treatment plan. By the early 90’s, novel treatments became available like steroid injections, PUVA, and methotrexate. When I turned 17, my diagnosis was amended to psoriatic arthritis. I cycled through many treatments for my condition, including up to 150 mg of methotrexate three times a week, steroid & gold injections, and eventually Remicade when it became available in the late nineties.

In 2003 I started taking Enbrel and have been taking it ever since. In addition to my biologic, I manage my arthritis with topical corticosteroids, steroid injections, and ibuprofen along with alternative medicine like massage therapy, acupuncture, a strict nutritional plan, herbal supplements, and heat therapy. All of these interventions allow me to live an active lifestyle, I frequently exercise and enjoy weight training, cardio, walking, pilates, yoga, and standup paddleboarding.

Intervention: Digital health tools like my Garmin Fenix 6 smartwatch, the TrainingPeaks training program, and the Arthritis Foundation’s pain management app, Vim, inform my exercise regimen and care plan with patient reported data. With the support of my watch, I am able to track my pain & log my activity to identify the best exercise regimen for my care through an app called TrainingPeaks. A personal exercise coach reviews my data and builds exercise recommendations to meet my unique needs, and as I progress through my workout plans, I log notes about the impact of the activity on my joints. This log is even imported into my pain management app, Vim. When I meet with my rheumatologist, I am able to export the notes about my experience and discuss the data with them at my appointment. This in turn, informs my care plan.

Maintenance: I have been actively using my smart watch and exercise tracking tools for more than 3 years. Every day, my watch provides haptic feedback that reminds me to continue to track my progress and health. Weekly, my training coach at TrainingPeaks reviews the data and provides a recommended exercise plan for the upcoming week. After each workout, I diligently track how I’m feeling, what worked well during my exercise and what I feel I need more support on. Trends from the data are used to inform future workout plans, and I download the reports to use in talking with my rheumatologist. Bringing data into my doctor’s office helps my doctor and I engage in shared decision making about my care, and it is much easier to report back to them how I’ve been doing with the support of consistently reported health data.

Quality of Life: Since incorporating digital health tracking tools into my routine, I have been able to stay active and keep my joints moving. The more I move the less I flare. This approach has helped me manage my disease activity. With tracking, I am more perceptive to my pain signals and have been able to detect early signs of a flare more easily – helping me be more proactive about my energy and effort conservation and self-care treatments. I am thankful that since adding digital health tracking into my care, I have had less disease activity.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/leveraging-digital-health-tracking-to-improve-arthritis-management/