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Is Virtual Reality a Pain Management Alternative ?
A small study of patients with neuropathic pain found that they had a 69% reduction in pain during each session & a 53% reduction in pain immediately after.
In 2016, science teacher Bob Jester fell off a roof, broke 19 bones, and underwent surgery for his badly broken back. Doctors prescribed Oxycodone, an opioid, during Jester’s extended recovery. Jester worried that he would become dependent on opioids, so he jumped at the chance to try Virtual Reality (VR) as an alternative to opioids when an acquaintance told him about a company that was using VR for pain management. When he started using a mobile headset connected to a smartphone that plays VR apps, Jester found his pain lessened and the effect lasted for several hours each time. About a year after his accident, Jester was able to wean himself off opioids.[1]
Could other patients with severe acute and/or chronic pain experience the same results?
The State of the Opioid Crisis
The number of opioid prescriptions written annually in the U.S. roughly equals the number of adults in the country.[2] And sometimes opioids, though intended to help patients, cause harm: The opioid epidemic claims the lives of 115 people every day.[3]
