Philips India launches pain therapy devices for home use
As India urbanizes, it faces a new challenge in healthcare that may turn epidemic “ body aches. The increasingly urban lifestyle means that people are doing less strenuous work and spending more time sitting, whether it is in offices, cars or at homes. At the other end, people hitting the gym or playing a sport tend to over exert them- selves, causing wear and tear. In both cases, the resultant body aches can be unbearable.
Prence of chronic pain in India is estimated to be approximately 30% and the number of musculoskeletal cases which are a result of unhealthy lifestyle, stress, poor posture, physical exertion, ageing and degenerative osteoarthritis are increasing.
Indias pain management industry, which includes pain killers, medical and alternative therapies etc, is worth more than Rs 2,500 crores annually and is growing at 15 percent.
A popular home remedy for aches and swellings has been pressing the affected parts with a hot cloth. In fact, this treatment is prescribed even by medical practitioners. But the drawback with it is that while it does provide relief, the hot cloth is sometimes too hot or it cools down too fast.
Philips India, a leading health and wellness company, has been addressing the issue of pain management in India for a long time, but on a business-to-business level. Its products are used by sports doctors and physiotherapists for providing relief. But now, Philips India is venturing into the home segment category with two new pain management devices. Its InfraPhil and InfraCare devices are designed for home use. They use infra red rays to provide relief to the affected part of the body similar to a hot press by colth, but unlike the cloth, they maintain a steady temperature and are neither hot nor cold.
Commenting on the products, Jayati Singh, Head, New Businesses, Consumer Lifestyle, Philips India says, People are realizing that popping pills is not a solution the pains; it is just a temporary relief. They are either making changes in their lifestyles or are looking at solutions which dont have too many side ef- fects. That is where this product lands “ it does not have any known side effects and can be used at home.
Unlike painkillers or using gels balms that affect only the top layer of the skin do not permeate deeply, infra red therapy permeates to at least five millimeters beneath the skin and dilates the blood vessels and enhances the blood circulations.
Philips is targeting the products at men and women between 35-65 years. It is confident that the prod- uct will sell despite being costlier than its competitors. Ms Singh says, When it comes to health, cost be- comes secondary. We noticed that even in Tier II cities, there is a lot of traction for our product.
The market for infra red lamps is currently populated by products that are not reliable and are prone to malfunctions. In this field, the InfraPhil and InfraCare devices by Philips promise a long life and reliability.
With these two products, Philips sees a merging of its three depart- ments healthcare, consumer lifestyle and lighting. The bulbs for the lamps are made by the lighting division, it is a healthcare device and consumer lifestyle will be selling it.
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