Chronic Pain Treatment through Virtual Reality

Abstract

Chronic pain is a notable issue of public healthcare, causing enormous direct and indirect costs, and a reduction of the quality of life in the affected patients. In this study, we have used Virtual Reality (VR) as a method to reduce stress, anxiety and pain in patients affected by chronic pain. We examined two cohorts of patients: an experimental group and a control group. The patients in the experimental group were administered eight VR sessions, each of those lasted thirty minutes, while the control group had a standard therapy. The results are encouraging: they demonstrate the efficacy of VR treatment and the safety of the method.