Digital delivery of the GDS method for chronic lumbosacral discogenic pain: A pilot study aligning Sustainable...

A person's quality of life and everyday functioning may be significantly restricted by chronic back pain including lumbosacral discogenic pain. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the GDS method's initial effects on patients with chronic lumbosacral discogenic pain in terms of both pain and quality of life delivered through a smart phone application in a pilot study.

Between July 2025 and September 2025, a one-group pretest-posttest design was chosen, and a total of fifteen patients (six male and nine female; mean age 45± 9.0 years; range, 35 to 65 years) were enrolled in the study. Study was Designed at Superior University, Lahore and conducted at Seyal Medical Center. A free local designed smartphone application was used to deliver the 6-week GDS program. Daily reminders, video instructions, and guided postural exercises were all part of the intervention aligning it with SDG three and four. The SF-36 Quality of Life Survey and the ODI scale for pain were used as outcome measures both before and after the intervention. Data on adherence and user engagement were also gathered.

From pre-intervention to post-intervention, all SF-36 short form domains showed a statistically significant increase (p <.05). A small scale change (40%) was seen in the ODI scale after the intervention. Eighty percent of participants completed at least five sessions per week on average.

Small percentage of patients with chronic discogenic pain showed improvements in pain intensity, functional disability, and certain quality-of-life domains after completing a six-week digitally delivered GDS program. Platforms for digital physiotherapy need to define more parameters, so it could provide a scalable and affordable addition to conventional care.