Question
My father is 75, has had chronic back pain for the past 7-10 years. He has lower vertebrate that have no cushion and are fused together. He walks hunched over and is in pain every minute.  He's been to just about every specialist him and mom could find.  Then my mother passed away a little over a year ago, I've taken him a couple of places but have gotten the same answers "there's nothing we can do".  Basically my dad has given up.  One thing that does give him some relief (though very short) are the Ice Hot heat patches, or any heat rub.  Problem is he has no one to put it on his back, and he can't reach it, and I live 3 hours away.  My couple of questions are:
Do you know of any way he may be able to attach these, any special tool anyone makes?  Have you heard of Cura Heat patches?  You actually attach them to the outside of your clothing and is suppose to generate heat for up to 12 hours.  It's manufactured in the UK, so thought I see what I could find out about it first.  Also, might you have any other suggestions as to pain relief or if one exists a solution to his back.
Thank you so much for taking the time to help.
God Bless!

Answer
Hi Justin and thanks for writing,

I am sorry to hear about your Dad's chronic pain.

The first thing I wonder is if there are any friends or neighbours that live near-by and could help him out the patch on each day (maybe make a schedule between a few people so each person is responsible for 1-2 days each week). Also check with local churches to see if volunteers might also help out weekly.

My second thought is are there any government services available in his area. It'd be worth a few phone calls to the local health authority and hospital social workers to see if he would qualify for subsidized home support services.

My last thought is paying for private care through a local nursing or home support agency. It may sound expensive at first, but he really only needs an hour or two a day so the family can most likely afford to pay for some private support if necessary.

I hope this helps and I wish you both all the best,
Margot