Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Psychology, Université du Québec a Montréal, 100 Sherbrooke St W, Montréal, QC, H2X 3P2, Canada.
Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2024 Sep;28(9):893-928. doi: 10.1007/s11916-024-01246-2. Epub 2024 Apr 8.
This review critically analyzes the recent literature on virtual reality's (VR) use in acute and chronic pain management, offering insights into its efficacy, applications, and limitations.
Recent studies, including meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials, have demonstrated VR's effectiveness in reducing pain intensity in various acute pain scenarios, such as procedural/acute pain and in chronic pain conditions. The role of factors such as immersion and presence in enhancing VR's efficacy has been emphasized. Further benefits have been identified in the use of VR for assessment as well as symptom gathering through conversational avatars. However, studies are limited, and strong conclusions will require further investigation. VR is emerging as a promising non-pharmacological intervention in pain management for acute and chronic pain. However, its long-term efficacy, particularly in chronic pain management, remains an area requiring further research. Key findings highlight that VR programs vary in efficacy depending on the specificity of the origin of pain.
本文批判性地分析了虚拟现实 (VR) 在急性和慢性疼痛管理中的应用的最新文献，深入探讨了其疗效、应用和局限性。
最近的研究，包括荟萃分析和随机对照试验，表明 VR 在减轻各种急性疼痛情况下的疼痛强度方面具有有效性，如程序/急性疼痛和慢性疼痛病症。强调了沉浸感和存在感等因素在增强 VR 疗效方面的作用。通过对话式化身进行评估和症状收集，VR 的使用也具有进一步的益处。然而，研究是有限的，需要进一步的调查才能得出强有力的结论。VR 作为一种有前途的非药物干预手段，正在急性和慢性疼痛管理中崭露头角。然而，其在慢性疼痛管理中的长期疗效仍然是一个需要进一步研究的领域。主要研究结果表明，VR 程序的疗效因疼痛起源的特异性而异。
