Abstract
Introduction: Approximately 19% of adults complain of chronic pain, which poses considerable physical, mental, and economic burdens. Conventional chronic pain management includes physical therapy, analgesic drugs, and the avoidance of pain triggers. Metaverse-related technologies such as virtual reality (VR) are promising complementary approaches. This review aimed to systematically analyse the applications of VR in chronic pain management in the context of rehabilitation.
Methods: Four electronic databases (MEDLINE, CENTRAL, PEDro, and IEEE Xplore) were searched following the PRISMA guidelines, and data were collected until October 2023.
Results: A total of 56 articles were included in the qualitative synthesis. VR was used in several conditions: musculoskeletal disorders (40/56, 71%), fibromyalgia (5/56, 9%), burns (4/56, 7%), phantom pain after limb amputation (1/56, 2%), upper-limb pain after stroke (1/56, 2%), mastectomy with axillary lymph nodes (2/56, 4%), vestibular rehabilitation (1/56, 2%), active ageing (1/56, 2%), and pain during cardiac rehabilitation after cardiac surgery (1/56, 2%). VR was useful in increasing treatment adherence and pain tolerance and facilitating the achievement of other endpoints such as functional measures, range of motion, and functional performance. No significant side effects were reported aside from occasional episodes of nausea and headaches with immersive VR.
Discussion: The included studies were heterogeneous, limiting comparative analysis.
Conclusion: VR interventions are efficacious complementary methods for managing chronic pain, increasing the quality of care, and potentially reducing drug intake in chronic pain management.
Keywords
Chronic pain, Virtual reality, Pain management, Rehabilitation, Quality of care, Development of new rehabilitative technologies