Application of Virtual Reality in Pain Management

Introduction: Virtual Reality (VR) technology is developing rapidly in the last decade. The availability of affordable VR devices increases the use of VR in many sectors. VR is used as a platform for learning, entertainment, and medical profession. In  the medical  profession,  VR  is  used  in  many  aspects,  ranging  from  medical  education,  training healthcare  providers,  medical intervention, and rehabilitation. This review aims to explore the potential application of VR in pain management .Methods:  Manuscripts  were  searched  in  PubMed,  Cochrane  Library,  and  PubMed  Central.  The  search  results underwent deduplication process. The remaining articles  were screened based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria  by reading titles and abstracts as the primary filter. The article that met the criteria underwent full read as a secondary filter.Results:  A total of ۲۴۰۱ articles were identified. Overall, six articles were included in this review. The application of VR is based on distracting  patient’s attention to reduce  the  perception of pain.  Four  articles showed  advantage of VR in pain management. Two articles showed no difference between VR-based pain management and the control group.Conclusion:  The  emergence  of  affordable  VR  devices  boosts  the  utilization  of  VR-based  technology  in  pain management. However, their use still requires larger data and verification.

کلیدواژه ها:

Medicine ، Therapeutics ، Disease Management ، Complementary Therapies