Arthritis Tracker User Guide

This guide is packed with lots of information about how to use Arthritis Tracker.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for or have a question, please reach out to us at apps@versusarthritis.org and we will do our best to help.

It’s important to us that you can reach out to let us know what you think of the app, what could be improved or to report a problem.

There are two ways you can do this:

Feeding back through the feedback hub:

• Tap on the big pink button on the main screens that says “Feedback”.
• Tap “Give Feedback” and fill out the form.

Feeding back or reporting a problem via email:

• Send an email with your feedback to apps@versusarthritis.org.

If you are reporting a problem, please describe the problem as best you can telling us the steps that you took leading up to it and providing:

• a screenshot of your phone showing the problem (if you think that would help)
• the make and model of your device eg Samsung S8 or iPhone 9
• the operating system, if you know it.

We will get back to you as soon as we can and try our best to resolve the issue.

Arthritis Tracker makes it quick and easy to track how you’ve been feeling, so you can get on with your day.

Face icons

The main page of the app features a series of face icons under six headings: Pain, Energy Levels, Medication Side Effects, Activity Levels, Last Night’s Sleep and Emotions/ Feelings. The faces will all appear grey until you select an option, then they will change colour.

Simply rate your day under each heading based on how you are feeling. The happy face will turn green when you track a good day, the sad face will turn red when you track a bad day and the neutral face will turn yellow when you track an okay day.

If you are a young person, it’s important that you talk to someone if you are having a very bad day or lots of bad days in a row. This could be either a parent, carer or your healthcare professional.

Tracking pain using the body map

Once you rate your overall pain for the day a body map will appear, allowing you to include more details about where you have been sore, and how sore it’s been. Tap on a body part to zoom in, and then tap multiple times on a pain point to record how that joint is feeling.

Tapping once on a pain point will mark that body part as red to represent a bad day. Tapping a second time on a pain point will mark it as yellow to represent an okay day. A third tap will change it to green to represent a good day. A final tap will reset it back to grey (no rating).

You can access the body map to add more information at any time by tapping the ‘Body Map’ button beside ‘Pain’.

Adding a note

You can also add a note about your day, for example giving a reason that might explain why you’re feeling particularly sore, tired or emotional today, or recording information for your next appointment.

To do this, scroll to the end of the screen with the face icons, and tap on the button 'Add a note'. If you are looking for ideas for how you can use the notes section you’ll find lots of ideas here.

You can edit or delete a note by tapping on the pencil icon.

It’s easy to forget to track some days, especially if you are going through a flare-up.

Using the calendar, you can track how you felt on any day in the past, whether it was yesterday, last week or six months ago. To open the calendar, go to the ‘Track’ page and tap on the blue underlined date in the top left corner, or scroll down to the bottom of the page and tap ‘Calendar’.

Simply select a date on the calendar and you are ready to start tracking.

Once you’ve been tracking your wellbeing for a few days or weeks you may find it helpful to start using your summary section, which gives you an overview of how you’ve been and allows you to look back on your previous notes. The summary is particularly helpful when you have an appointment coming up with a healthcare professional, as it will give you some hints on what to say when they ask how you’ve been feeling.

Along the bottom of the app there are four buttons: Track, Summary, Info and Tips and In Your Area. Tap on ‘Summary’. Toggle between the main summary and your notes by tapping on ’My Notes’ and ‘Summary’.

Choosing a time period

You can filter the information in your summary by different time periods eg ‘1-Month View’, ‘3-Month View’, ’6-Month View’ and ’9-Month View’. You can change the time period by tapping on either the blue writing in the top left corner or the three-lined ‘hamburger’ icon on the top right, just under the cog.

Main Summary

The main summary is laid out like a simple list to make it easy to understand. Under each heading, you will see a sentence which tells you how many good, bad or okay days you’ve had in the time period selected. The colour of the icon beside the heading will represent the most common type of day, eg if you have mostly good days, the icon will be coloured green.

If you have had an even amount of good, bad or okay days, the colour will represent your most recent day.

If you click on ‘More Info’ beside ’Pain’, you will be able to see further details about specific joints or body parts.

Viewing Previous Notes

Tap on ‘My Notes’ in the summary section, and you will see all the previous notes that you have saved, with the date and time that you saved them.

Info and tips for young people age 13-25

Arthritis Tracker is packed full of really helpful information and tips, including dealing with your symptoms and medication, school, exams, friends and more. It also includes links to real-life stories from other young people who have arthritis.

Along the bottom of the app there are four buttons: Track, Summary, Info and Tips and In Your Area. Tap on ‘Info and Tips’ to see all the categories. Select a category to view the topics under each. When you click on a button, it will take you to a page on our website with information on that topic.

Info and tips for adults age 25+

Adults of all ages are welcome to use Arthritis Tracker, particularly for tracking your wellbeing. However, if you are over 25 we recommend going directly to our website for information and tips. This is because the content in the ‘Info and Tips’ section was written for the Arthritis Tracker’s original audience: young people under 25.

You’ll find plenty of helpful information on a wide range of topics at www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/.

Navigating back to the app

To navigate from the web browser back to the app, just tap the ‘back’ button on the bottom right of most Android phones, or ‘back to Arthritis Tracker’ on the top left of most iOS phones. You can also use the function on your phone to pull up all recent apps and select Arthritis Tracker. Depending on what phone you have this might mean tapping a button on the bottom left of your screen, swiping up from the bottom, holding and then letting go or double tapping the home button.

We know how important it is to be able to connect with other people who understand what it’s like to have arthritis. That’s why we’ve included links to information about our social media platforms so you can feel more connected with us and other people living with arthritis.

Along the bottom of the app there are four buttons: Track, Summary, Info and Tips and In Your Area. To find out how you can connect with others via social media, first tap on ‘In Your Area’, and then on the ‘Join us on social media’ button.

This will bring you to a page on the Versus Arthritis website which lists all the different ways you can connect with us on social media, depending on what age you are and what area you are from.

To navigate from the web browser back to the app, just tap the ‘back’ button on the bottom right of most Android phones, or ‘back to Arthritis Tracker’ on the top left of most iOS phones. You could also use the function on your phone to pull up all recent apps and select Arthritis Tracker. Depending on what phone you have this might mean tapping a button on the bottom left of your screen, swiping up from the bottom, holding and then letting go or double tapping the home button.

We know how important it is to be able to connect with other people who understand what it’s like to have arthritis. That’s why we’ve included links to information about events and activities coming up near you, so you can meet other people who really understand life with arthritis, share tips and usually have a bit of fun along the way!

Along the bottom of the app there are four buttons: Track, Summary, Info and Tips and In Your Area. To find out about events coming up in your area, tap on ‘In Your Area’, and then tap on the ‘Find Events Nearby’ button.

This will bring you to a page on the Versus Arthritis website where you can search by your town, city or postcode to find events happening near you. These events will usually be for people of all ages, including adults.

If you cannot find an event in your area for young people, reach out to us at YPFSUK@versusarthritis.org and one of our team will be happy to see if there is anything coming up in your area.

To navigate from the web browser back to the app, just tap the ‘back’ button on the bottom right of most Android phones, or ‘back to Arthritis Tracker’ on the top left of most iOS phones. You can also use the function on your phone to pull up all recent apps and select Arthritis Tracker. Depending on what phone you have this might mean tapping a button on the bottom left of your screen, swiping up from the bottom, holding and then letting go, or double tapping the home button.

You can now export a back-up copy of your data on to your phone. This will give you additional peace of mind during the transition to the new version of Arthritis Tracker which is coming in September 2021 and will involve your data being stored online.

How to export your data quickly and easily:

1. On your Arthritis Tracker app, go to ‘Settings’ by tapping on the cog symbol in the top right of the screen.
2. Tap on ‘Export My Data’, and then confirm by pressing the button ‘Export Data’.
3. Once you see the words ‘Data Exported’, you’re done!

Next, just sit back and relax…

Once you’ve exported a copy of your data, you don’t need to do anything else. The file will be sitting on your phone, so you can rest assured that you have a back-up, while we prepare to move your data online in September 2021. You will probably never need to use this back-up file, as we will take you through a simple process to move your data to your online account during account set-up.

It is important that you keep your back-up file(s) safe and secure. This is your own personal information and we have no control over that file once you have exported it.

If you need to find your back-up file

The file that will be downloaded on to your phone will be in a special format called JSON. This file is designed to perfectly integrate with Arthritis Tracker, so that we can help to restore all your historical data if we ever need to, though that is highly unlikely. After you set up your online account, your data will be automatically backed up online for you anyway, so you will have even less need for this file.

If you do run into problems, remember we’re here to help. Contact us at apps@versusarthritis.org and tell us that you have a back-up ready, and we will help you to restore your data. Follow the steps below to find your back-up file on your phone so that you have it ready when we contact you.

Finding your back-up file

Arthritis Tracker back-up files are stored in different locations, depending on the make and model of your phone, as well as the phone’s settings. Below are some examples of where you might be able to find the file, based on the two most commonly used makes. If you have any issues finding your file, please reach out to us at apps@versusarthritis.org with the make and model of your phone and we’ll help you to find it.

iOS Devices (ie iPhones and iPads):
Try going to the 'Files' app, then select ‘On My iPhone’. It should be located here under a folder called ‘Arthritis Tracker’.

Samsung Devices:
Go to ‘My Files’, then ‘Internal Storage’ and then look under the folder ‘Download’. There should be a file that begins with ‘versus-arthritis’ and ends with ‘.json’.

Setting up and verifying your account

You need to create an account to use Arthritis Tracker. You will be taken through the steps needed to create an account once you download or open the app. Please check you are using the most recent version of Arthritis Tracker if you have not been asked to set up an account.

To set up an account you will need to provide an email address and a password. You will also need to verify your account by tapping on a link sent to you via email.

Didn’t receive the verification email?

It can take up to 10 minutes for the email to come through. While you’re waiting, check your junk mail or spam folder.

If it still has not come through after 10 minutes, tap the ‘resend’ button.

Received an error message?

There are two types of errors you might experience:

404 error: If you see this error it might be because

• you’ve opened the link on a device that Arthritis Tracker is not installed on. To fix this, copy and paste the link from the verification email and send the link to the correct device, or forward the email to an email address which is accessible on that device.
• You've opened the link on a browser (eg Chrome or Safari) instead of with Arthritis Tracker. If you are given the option, choose to open it on Arthritis Tracker.

’An error has occurred’ message: If you see this message it might be because

• you tapped on a link from an old email, eg if you tapped the ‘Resend’ button and received two emails. Check your inbox again and make sure you are clicking on the link sent in the most recent email.

If none of the advice above helps, please reach out to us at apps@versusarthritis.org and we will do our best to help you to get your account set up.

If you have used Arthritis Tracker before, you will need to move data that you have already tracked on the app to the online account. You will be given an opportunity to do this during account set-up.

If you are trying to log in to your Arthritis Tracker account you can reset your password by tapping on ‘forgot password’ on the screen. This will take you through the steps needed to reset your password using your email address.

If you would like to change your password while you are logged in, just tap on the cog symbol to go to Settings and then tap on ‘My Account’, ‘Edit’ and then ‘Edit Password’. You will need to confirm your current password before changing it.

You cannot change the email on your account within Arthritis Tracker. Please email us at apps@versusarthritis.org if you need to do this, and we will do our best to help you.

A passcode is a simple four-digit number which you can use to stop other people from picking up your phone, opening Arthritis Tracker and seeing your notes and other data. Once you have it switched on, each time you enter the app, you will be asked to provide this passcode before you’re allowed in.

How to switch passcode protection on or off

When you create an account you will be given the option of setting up a passcode, however you can switch it on or off at any point within Settings.

To do this, tap on the cog symbol to open Settings. Then tap on ‘My Account’ and finally tap on the toggle button beside ‘Passcode’.

If you can’t remember your passcode

If you have forgotten your passcode, you can reset it at any point by tapping on ‘forgot passcode’. This will take you through the steps needed to reset your password using your email address.

Once you are logged in to your account, the information you add into Arthritis Tracker will automatically be backed up online. You don’t have to do anything as it will automatically do this for you.

You don’t need an internet connection to track your day: the app will hold on to the information for you and save it online the next time you are connected to the internet.

Once you have created an Arthritis Tracker account, you will be able to log in to your account on another device eg a mobile or tablet. This is great if you get a new phone and would like to move your data to that device.

Just download Arthritis Tracker on your new phone, sign in and you’re ready to go.