Trial reportPloS one2016
The Impact of Virtual Reality on Chronic Pain.
Trial report in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 5 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 79 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Randomized Controlled Trial of Virtual Reality for Pain Management in a Specialty Rehabilitation Context
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Virtual Reality for Pain Management in the Post-Operative Period Following Orthopedic Surgery
The Feasibility & Effectiveness of Virtual Reality in Reducing Pain for Older Adults With Knee Osteoarthritis
Changes in Pain Interference and Severity After an Episode of Virtual Reality-augmented Remote Rehabilitative Care: a Pragmatic Exploratory Descriptive Trial
Evaluating the Feasibility and Acceptability of the Use of Virtual Reality in Pain Management in Hospitalized Patients
Who cites it
79 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 244 citations in OpenAlex.
- Use and efficacy of virtual, augmented, or mixed reality technology for chronic pain: a systematic review.Pain management · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of Immersive Virtual Reality on Chemotherapy-Related Side Effects in Patients Receiving Paclitaxel-Carboplatin With or Without Bevacizumab: 2-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness of virtual reality assisted active limb movement exercises for patients in the respiratory intensive care unit: a randomized pilot study.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2025Trial
- Pain Reduction With an Immersive Digital Therapeutic Tool in Women Living With Endometriosis-Related Pelvic Pain: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- The benefits and acceptability of virtual reality interventions for women with metastatic breast cancer in their homes; a pilot randomised trial.BMC cancer · 2022Trial
- Comparison of the effectiveness of virtual reality and chewing mint gum on labor pain and anxiety: a randomized controlled trial.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Trial
- The short-term effects of head-mounted virtual-reality on neuropathic pain intensity in people with spinal cord injury pain: a randomised cross-over pilot study.Spinal cord · 2021Trial
- The effect of Virtual Reality on evoked potentials following painful electrical stimuli and subjective pain.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- Virtual reality distraction induces hypoalgesia in patients with chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Modulation of tactile perception by Virtual Reality distraction: The role of individual and VR-related factors.PloS one · 2018Trial
- Application of Digital Technology in Palliative Care in Japan.Journal of hospice and palliative care · 2026Review
- Interest in and Predictors of Engagement With a Virtual Reality Intervention Among People With Chronic Pain: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Pain Neuroscience Education in Children and Adolescents with Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Feasibility and Efficacy of Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Virtual Reality Applications for Managing Chronic Pain and Enhancing Well-Being Among Older Adults in the Community: Mixed Methods Pilot Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Virtual Reality as an Adjuvant Treatment for Acute Pain During an Interventional Process with Capsaicin: A Feasibility Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Review
- Article
- Article
- Virtual Reality Interventions and Chronic Pain: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
19 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The treatment of chronic pain could benefit from additional non-opioid interventions. Virtual reality (VR) has been shown to be effective in decreasing pain for procedural or acute pain but to date there have been few studies on its use in chronic pain. The present study was an investigation of the impact of a virtual reality application for chronic pain. Thirty (30) participants with various chronic pain conditions were offered a five-minute session using a virtual reality application called Cool! Participants were asked about their pain using a 0-10 visual analog scale rating before the VR session, during the session and immediately after the session. They were also asked about immersion into the VR world and about possible side effects. Pain was reduced from pre-session to post-session by 33%. Pain was reduced from pre-session during the VR session by 60%. These changes were both statistically significant at the p < .001 level. Three participants (10%) reported no change between pre and post pain ratings. Ten participants (33%) reported complete pain relief while doing the virtual reality session. All participants (100%) reported a decrease in pain to some degree between pre-session pain and during-session pain. The virtual reality experience was found here to provide a significant amount of pain relief. A head mounted display (HMD) was used with all subjects and no discomfort was experienced. Only one participant noted any side effects. VR seems to have promise as a non-opioid treatment for chronic pain and further investigation is warranted.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.