#SundayResearchDive: Evaluating VR for Pain Management from Multiple Perspectives

To better understand the current landscape and potential future developments, I’ve selected four interesting articles published this week on PubMed. Each one addresses a unique aspect of VR’s role in pain management, ranging from labor pain and pediatric chronic pain to psychophysical measures and sensorimotor uncertainty.

Managing Chronic Pain with VR

Testimony from patient and professional on use of VR to manage pain. In this video, produced by KPRC Channel 2 News, Houston, physical therapist Jeff Hathaway of Breakthrough Physical Therapy, describes how VR technology combined with physical therapy can be used to treat chronic pain without pills. VR can change the brain’s perception of pain, greatly reducing the need for … Read More

Military Veterans turn to VR to manage pain levels

Testimony of Veterans with chronic pain on use of VR. In this video, produced by SWFL ABC Channel 7, we learn from Jamie Kaplan, Recreational Specialist at James A. Haley Veteran’s Hospital in Tampa Bay, how veterans are using VR Therapy to manage pain to decrease use or reliance on opioids. Patient William remarks on the decreased pain that he … Read More

VR to Ease Pain (Part 2)

Testimony from patient and physician on ouse of VR for chronic pain (2). In this video, produced by Hartford HealthCare, Dr. Adrian Hamburger of Ayer Neuroscience Institute, describes his patient’s experience with VR to modulate pain through rehabilitative VR treatment. As one of the first patients to use Firsthand Technology VR at the Institute, the patient describes her experience while … Read More

VR to Ease Pain (Part 1)

Testimony and explanations from patient and physician on use of VR for chronic pain (1). In this video, produced by Hartford HealthCare, Dr. Adrian Hamburger of Ayer Neuroscience Institute, describes his patient’s experience with VR to deal with chronic pain. He reports his patient’s improvement of mood, function and reduced reliance on other pain treatments as well as ease of … Read More

How a musician used Vr to get his life back

Harmon’s testimony. In this video, produced by AppliedVR, we hear from patient Harmon of Los Angeles, California, as he describes using VR to help manage the painful symptoms he faced during a health crisis. Harmon explains that using VR each day, that moment became his escape from the hospital and taught him to relax. He calls his device the « Virtual … Read More

How a teacher is using VR to manage chronic pain

Patient testimony on VR for chronic pain. In this video, produced by AppliedVR, we learn how patient Robert of Long Island, New Jersey, who underwent serious trauma after falling off a ladder and breaking 19 bones uses VR to help with pain management. The accident left him with unbearable pain, and he first began to take painkillers in order to … Read More

Could VR be the Future of Pain Relief?

News coverage includes testimony on use of VR for pain relief. In this video, produced by 9News Austrailia, we hear Professor Philip Siddall from the HammondCare Greenwich Hospital discuss a study incorporating VR into pain relief treatment for spinal cord injury patients. The Oculus VR, with appropriate content, can immerse patients in different simulations, subduing the brain’s pain signals without … Read More

Can VR help fight the opioid crisis

Use of VR for chronic pain at Cedars Sinai with patient participation and physician testimony. In this video, produced by FreeThink, we hear from Dr. Brennan Spiegel, Director of Health Services Research at Cedars-Sinai Health System, Los Angeles report on VR’s ability to blunt pain, greatly reducing the need for painkillers. Dr. Brennan is incorporating VR technology to overwhelm the … Read More