Using Virtual Reality to Tackle Chronic Pain

Jonathan Ziarko

As the new technology of VR (Virtual Reality) is becoming widespread throughout society people are discovering new and innovative ways to use it. The technique known as, Clinical VR, is being tested as a coping mechanism for chronic pain as a substitute to pain medication.[1] The importance of this new technology cannot be understated. It is estimated that one in five people in developed countries will have to deal with long-term chronic pain.[2] In addition to that chronic pain costs the United States around $560 billion a year in lost productivity and healthcare costs.[3] Although the VR gear is quite expensive its usefulness in the area of pain management could be a game changer in the medical industry.

The technique using virtual reality immersion to, in essence, distract patients from the extremely painful care that may be going on around them, such as wound cleaning.[4] The patient’s brain simply cannot take in the visual information around them as usual and they have something else to focus on other than the care being provided. Some researches have found that the use of Clinical VR can reduce a patients perceived pain by as much as 24% which is close to the same decrease seen with the use of narcotics.[5] However it does not help everyone and most physicians are being careful right now to not oversell the value of it.[6] It is still an emerging technology but it could become something we see in all hospitals very soon.

 

[1] Sophia Stuart, These Doctors Are Incorporating VR Into Pain Management, PCMag (Oct. 6, 2016, 08:00 AM EST), http://www.pcmag.com/news/348386/these-doctors-are-incorporating-vr-into-pain-management.

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Rachel Metz, Better Than Opioids? Virtual Reality Could Be Your Next Painkiller, MIT Technology Review (July 18, 2016), https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601911/better-than-opioids-virtual-reality-could-be-your-next-painkiller/.

[6] Id.