Innovative Technology Using Virtual Reality in the Treatment of Pain: Does It Reduce Pain via Distraction, or Is There More to It?

Abstract

These results demonstrate that in addition to distraction, there are novel mechanisms for VR treatment in pain, such as producing neurophysiologic changes related to conditioning and exposure therapies. If these new mechanisms can lead to new treatment options for patients with chronic pain, VR may have the ability to help reduce opioid use and misuse among chronic pain patients. More studies are needed to reproduce results from prospective/pilot studies in large randomized control studies.

A randomised controlled trial to assess the feasibility of utilising virtual reality to facilitate analgesia during external cephalic version

“…Importantly, the findings of our pilot are in stark contrast to several other higher quality studies aimed at assessing the utility of VR during acute pain. To date, several systematic reviews and experimental studies have demonstrated the analgesic efficacy of VR for management of acute pain 11,13,14,[29][30][31] . In particular, the recent systematic review by Chan et al deserves mention as they demonstrated through their meta-analysis a standardised mean difference of −0.49 (95% CI −0.84 to −0.41, p < 0.01) in pain reduction with the use of VR in acute pain 13 .…”

“…There has been increasing interest in assessing its analgesic potential in various fields of medicine, especially since VR has demonstrated clinical efficacy in pain reduction whilst being well-tolerated by patients in a variety of settings e.g. burn wound dressing, venepuncture, and dental treatments [11][12][13][14][15][16] 13,18 . To date, however, there has been no investigation of the use of VR in women undergoing ECV.…”

“…The precise mechanisms behind the analgesic effects of VR are still under scrutiny by researchers, though several theories have been proposed. For one, it is believed that VR primarily functions as a distraction mechanism as a consequence of its immersive nature 14 . This is based on the premise that the brain has a finite capacity for attention towards pain which can be redirected to attenuate the degree of pain it perceives 19 .…”

The use of immersive virtual reality for pain control during periodontal scaling and root planing procedures in dental hygiene clinic

“…The use of VR might be an alternative or adjunctive option for the treatment of pain. VR might influence the extent of opioid misuse and benefit‐opioid dependent patients …”

Can hypnosis and virtual reality reduce anxiety, pain and fatigue among patients who undergo cardiac surgery: a randomised controlled trial

“…VR subjective experience is characterized by senses of immersion and presence. Presence refers to the degree to which the subject experiences being in the virtual environment [42,43], while immersion is the amount of sensory input the VR system creates [44]. Feedback systems with trackersand often helmet and gloves -allow individuals to be distracted by interacting with a virtual world and make it as "real" as possible [45].…”