Extended Reality in Practice by Bernard Marr

Author:Bernard Marr [Marr, Bernard]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781119699378
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2021-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Managing pain

Pain management is a critical part of treating physical injury and illness, and this is another area that can be enhanced through VR. Clinical trials have shown that VR helps patients cope better with pain and reduces the use of opioids – including one study where patients treated with VR reported a three-point reduction in pain definition, on a scale of 1–10.xvii

Hoag Hospital in California is one of the United States' first hospitals to use VR pain treatment (outside of clinical trial settings, that is) to help patients feel better. The coronavirus pandemic hit just as the hospital was beginning to implement the VR technology, which meant even non-Covid patients were sitting in isolation, without visitors. Using VR, these patients were able to immerse themselves in beautiful destinations or exciting experiences, like swimming with dolphins – the idea being this would relax patients and distract them from the pain. Did it work? After a six-week period, treating around 200 patients with VR, the team reported amazing results, with some patients saying the VR therapy was better than morphine.xviii As well as asking patients to rate their pain before and after the VR sessions – which lasted from 15 to 30 minutes – the team also took MRIs before and after some of the sessions. The MRI data showed that the brain's response to pain decreased while being treated with VR.

I find this use case really encouraging, not just because it shows how VR helps people suffering from chronic pain (just think of how many people living with chronic pain could benefit from low-cost VR therapy, without having to leave the house), but also that it could help to reduce opioid dependence in future.

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