A compelling new study, published in the journal Pain, has found integrating an immersive virtual reality system into a chronic pain treatment can significantly enhance a patient’s pain-relief outcome. The research suggests “digiceutical” therapies may be effective for patients suffering chronic pain.
The study focused on VR as an adjunct to spinal cord stimulation (SCS), a therapy for chronic pain involving a surgical implant designed to deploy electrical pulses that interrupt pain signaling to the brain. Fifteen subjects with SCS implants for chronic leg pain were recruited for the study.