The world receives healthcare far differently than ever before, thanks to rapidly improving technology. For instance, we can tap around a few times on our smartphones and about 45 minutes later, a pizza will arrive at the door. That’s healthy, right? Outside of the benefits of cheesy bread, technology gives us a wide range of opportunities we can use to improve and monitor our health. From Fitbits to mobile blood sugar monitors, we now have an expansive world of options to feel better and decrease discomfort. One discomfort that is extremely common is located in one of the most vital parts of our bodies - our backs. No kidding, a reported 80% of us will suffer from back pain at some point in our lives. 80%! We were approached by a revolutionary company called Nuspine, whose aim was to improve that terrible statistic. Nuspine’s vision was to work with what you’ve got, right where you are. They wanted an easy-to-use solution that back pain sufferers could access from the comfort of their home, in a convenient way. We add the convenient bit because, sure, a few taps on a smartphone could cause a spine expert to arrive at your door much like the aforementioned pizza, but who has time for that anyway? Instead, they assembled a group of spine and back experts and got to work designing exercises and routines that the common back pain sufferer could access and use on an everyday basis. Putting it all together, they developed a training program designed to reduce spine compression, which aids in reducing overall back pain. Once we took on this project, we knew that simple UI/UX was going to be key. These folks are dealing with back pain, the last thing they need is an app that’s confusing, complicated, and ultimately frustrating. The team also realized the challenge of moving a user through a training system as sophisticated as one dealing with improving the health of the user. As such, the exercises are delivered through a step-by-step progression learning system, guiding the patient through modules in order to learn more techniques, and improve spinal health. As further steps are taken through the Nuspine system, the user unlocks bonus tips that help the patient further understand the principles of back pain, and how the body is influenced by the environment around them. Nuspine also includes a tracking journal, developed by the National Institute of Health, helping the user further understand the impact back pain has on their lifestyle. As the patient moves through the training, the journal keeps track of exactly when they improve, which helps them understand which elements of Nuspine were the most effective. This innovative system was created for on-the-go patients, physicians, and clinicians, in order to work together to streamline the healing process for those 80% of us who have ever suffered from back pain. Which means, if you’re reading this right now and feel discomfort in your back - it’s time to give Nuspine a try. Barefoot Solutions works with a wide range of innovators to create apps that people will use, apps that make money, and apps that improve everyday lives. Have an idea? Let’s hear it.

Jack LaLanne opened the first fitness club in the United States in 1936. The place was Oakland, CA, and the concept of the health club was entirely absurd. Doctors warned their patients to stay away from the gym, alleging that spending time on fitness in a club was not necessary for optimal health. Says LeLanne of the rumors at the time, “People thought I was a charlatan and a nut. The doctors were against me -- they said that working out with weights would give people heart attacks and they would lose their sex drive.” Regardless, the accusations never stopped LaLanne from becoming the first notable personal trainer and becoming dubbed the godfather of health club fitness. Now nearly 80 years later, there are health clubs of every variety on nearly any given block in the country. Large catch-all gyms like 24-Hour Fitness offer memberships for as low as $30/month, making the fitness club an accessible option for the masses. Boutique gyms like yoga studios, pilates studios, or crossfit warehouses are taking the country by storm as Americans find new and different ways to get their sweat on. Within these different fitness centers are coaches and trainers whose sole role is to motivate, educate and teach clients how to properly exercise to attain results while avoiding injury. Enter the next wave of fitness industry development: fitness apps. The applications have similarly swept American attention, as there are apps for nearly every type of fitness tracking and motivation a person looking to exercise could need -- heart rate tracking, pace setting, caloric intake tracking, goal setting, you name it. These apps provide many of the functions a fitness complex is built for, which leads to the natural question: Do fitness apps threaten the booming personal trainer industry? Possibly - and here’s why. Convenience The average American commutes 51 minutes a day, effectively reducing a 24 hour day of activity to 23. Factor in actually working a job, eating some meals, and sleeping in some cases, and our collective American schedules are pretty packed. This leaves room for the desire to find ways to make extra time where possible, especially off the road given commuting woes. Fitness Buddy is an app complete with a variety of exercises to meet just about any fitness need, anywhere a user may be. Workouts are offered to target specific muscle groups and goals, and include a touted 17,000+ exercises with step-by-step instructions, animations and videos. So, if a workout can be performed in a backyard or living room, why not spare that commute time and get it done on site? Fitness apps are the answer for this possibility - and people are loving it. Cost Effective Gym memberships range, providing options for just about everyone. There are the aforementioned $30/month memberships, as well as places like the YMCA that offer financial assistance or memberships on a sliding scale -- but there are pricey gyms out there as well. The popular club Corepower Yoga, founded in Colorado and now in states across the country, offers memberships starting at $135/month. Pilates and crossfit studios also run along the same lines, which can prove a high bar to scale for persons who enjoy these activities but can’t afford to make it happen. FitStar, for example, is a free app that offers fitness videos hosted by former NFL player Tony Gonzalez to provide a robust collection of workouts for the typical gym user. Yet the company created a secondary app for exercisers who specifically enjoy yoga, FitStar Yoga, which is alsao free to download. Fitness apps for these types of exercises are now rampant, inexpensive, and again - convenient. Accountability One of the biggest arguments for personal trainers, besides of course their experience tailoring exercises to a specific person, is their championship at motivation. Having an appointment with another human often forces us as a species to consider meeting obligations, and the personal trainer is a perfect example of that. Yet with fitness apps living in phones near their users at all times, push notifications ping dieters and weight losers to stay on track and get in shape, even letting users know when other people are working out. For example, MapMyRun is an app built for tracking distance, but paired with social features to sync with user’s Facebook accounts and connect with friends who also use the app. When push notifications are enabled, couch potatoes can see when friends go on a run, guilting the user’s competitive spirit with tacit encouragement to hit the pavement. There are also apps like Kiqplan, which works as an overall plan to hold the user accountable over a 12-week period. Among the plans offered are Slim and Trim and Beer Belly Blaster, while the app as a whole is marketed as “your own digital coach.” Users are rewarded with milestones and reminders, replacing some of the core functions of a live personal trainer.   The benefits around fitness apps could possibly outnumber those of personal trainers. Yet will they necessarily replace the trainer altogether? Only time will really tell, as more and more fitness apps hit the market and answer the demand of app users across the country. Do you think fitness apps will replace trainers? Let us know in the comments below.

Anyone living with diabetes knows that it’s no walk in the park. Aside from the constant blood sugar monitoring and dietary restrictions, you need to always be in tune with your body to make sure you aren’t missing any warning signs. You have to be sure you’re not hours away from a potential emergency, and you have to have your chain of caregiver communication in place. It all adds up to daily exhaustion, but emerging technology is looking to change that. Enterprising developers are researching how apps can be used to help individuals with diabetes in ways that aren’t as time-consuming or intrusive — and maybe even help prevent a crisis situation. Here are just a few ways that apps are looking to help diabetic individuals manage their condition: Predictive Alerts – and Current Ones An article at EndocrineWeb highlights an app created by Medtronic in conjunction with IBM’s supercomputer Watson. This app will have the ability to predict diabetic danger hours before it happens through constant glucose monitoring. Pamela Reese, spokesperson for Medtronic, tells EndocrineWeb that the app had success in “predicting low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) up to three hours before it occurred” which is early enough to “head off a potentially dangerous health event due to abnormal blood glucose levels.” It’s a prime example of how current monitoring apps and technology can be applied to the medical field in a vital, meaningful way. Medtronic also currently has the MiniMed Connect system, which allows for glucose details to be shared from an insulin pump right to a smartphone or iPod touch app. This lets diabetic individuals easily monitor their glucose levels in the moment, plus it has the ability to connect to friends and family in case of emergency. Yet the new app created with Watson is touted to be “a kind of personal medical assistant for those with diabetes” and will even go beyond the capabilities of the MiniMed app system. Although the app’s accuracy will still depend on the user’s input, it’s a huge leap forward from in-the-moment monitoring to potentially predicting when a diabetic emergency could happen. Caregiver Communication Diabetic kids know what it’s like to constantly have to check in with well-meaning yet persistent parents and doctors. While it’s important to be in touch with one’s health — and to keep a team of caregivers informed — sometimes kids just want to keep things a little more lighthearted. A CHOC Children’s blog postfeatures the story of Reece and Olivia Ohmer, a pair of young sisters with Type I diabetes that have developed a “diabetes emoticon app.” This interesting conceptual app better allows children to communicate with their parents and physicians on how they’re feeling, what they’ve eaten, and when they’ve checked their glucose levels. It’s meant to cut down on the amount of time spent by diabetics informing caregivers of their status — so instead of having to trade messages back and forth, the app provides handy emoticons. “Just because we’re kids doesn’t mean we don’t have good ideas,” Reece Ohmer is quoted as saying, and although they may be kids, their app could have uses for diabetic individuals of all ages. It’s the ability to keep track of reminders and send communications in a way that’s fun, not a nagging chore, that makes this idea stand out. Carb-Watching For people with diabetes, watching their carb intake isn’t about losing weight, it’s about keeping them alive. That’s where the Easycarb app comes in — Healthlineexplains it as “an app for smart devices combined with a dedicated portable Bluetooth scale for food weighing, which together automatically calculate the exact amount of carbohydrates in a given meal.” It even provides insulin dosage recommendations based on the user’s insulin sensitivity, and it tracks all carbohydrates in a database that physicians can later access as a PDF. Ease of Use As technology continues to improve, it’s shining a light on how apps can be used to help with healthcare, including that of individuals with diabetes. It’s always important to not substitute the advice of an app for the advice of an in-person physician, but when it comes to things like glucose monitoring or carb calculating, a handy smartphone app might be just the thing to make life as a diabetic a bit easier.