Virtual reality can help ease chronic pain, study suggests
A proof-of-concept trial by Imperial College London found that immersing people in VR scenes of the Arctic helped to ease their pain.
Virtual reality (VR) can help to ease someone’s sensitivity to pain, new research suggests.
Scientists at Imperial College London found that people immersed in VR scenes of the Arctic reported reduced pain sensations compared with those not using the technology.
The study suggests that immersion in VR can help disrupt some processes in the brain of those who suffer from chronic pain, helping to reduce the sensation of discomfort as a result.
Dr Sam Hughes, first author of the study, said: “One of the key features of chronic pain is you get increased sensitivity to painful stimuli. This means patients’ nerves are constantly ‘firing’ and telling their brain they are in a heightened state of pain.
“Our work suggests that VR may be interfering with processes in the brain, brain stem and spinal cord, which are known to be key parts of our inbuilt pain-fighting systems and are instrumental in regulating the spread of increased sensitivity to pain.”
