ArticleJMIR formative research2024
Effects of Embodiment in Virtual Reality for Treatment of Chronic Pain: Pilot Open-Label Study.
Article in JMIR formative research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04060875 (Research Protocol for Karuna Labs Inc.), which is not on this map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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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.
Research Protocol for Karuna Labs Inc.: Safety and Efficacy of Virtual Reality Graded Motor Imagery for Chronic Pain
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Skill-Based Virtual Reality Therapy in High-Impact Chronic Pain: 2-Year Follow-Up Results From a Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Trial
- Virtual Reality-Based Therapy Improves Balance, Quality of Life, and Mitigates Pain and Fear of Falling in Women with Bone Mineral Density Loss: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Virtual embodiment training is associated with relative alpha power modulation.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Article
- The role of sensory attenuation in symptomatic and healthy individuals: a scoping review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- A drug-free prescription for pain.Nature · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChronic pain has long been a major health burden that has been addressed through numerous forms of pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment. One of the tenets of modern medicine is to minimize risk while providing efficacy. Further, because of its noninvasive nature, virtual reality (VR) provides an attractive platform for potentially developing novel therapeutic modalities.
objectiveThe purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of a novel VR-based digital therapy for the treatment of chronic pain.
methodsAn open-label study assessed the feasibility of using virtual embodiment in VR to treat chronic pain. In total, 24 patients with chronic pain were recruited from local pain clinics and completed 8 sessions of a novel digital therapeutic that combines virtual embodiment with graded motor imagery to deliver functional rehabilitation exercises over the course of 4 weeks. Pain intensity as measured by a visual analog scale before and after each virtual embodiment training session was used as the primary outcome measure. Additionally, a battery of patient-reported pain questionnaires (Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire, Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire) were administered before and after 8 sessions of virtual embodiment training as exploratory outcome measures to assess if the measures are appropriate and warrant a larger randomized controlled trial.
resultsA 2-way ANOVA on session × pre- versus postvirtual embodiment training revealed that individual virtual embodiment training sessions significantly reduced the intensity of pain as measured by the visual analog scale (P<.001). Perceived disability due to lower back pain as measured by the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire significantly improved (P=.003) over the 4-week course of virtual embodiment regimen. Improvement was also observed on the helplessness subscale of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (P=.02).
conclusionsThis study provides evidence that functional rehabilitation exercises delivered in VR are safe and may have positive effects on alleviating the symptoms of chronic pain. Additionally, the virtual embodiment intervention may improve perceived disability and helplessness of patients with chronic pain after 8 sessions. The results support the justification for a larger randomized controlled trial to assess the extent to which virtual embodiment training can exert an effect on symptoms associated with chronic pain.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04060875; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04060875.
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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.