Virtual reality — new possibilities in the treatment of pain

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to present virtual reality technology as one of the modern and novel option for pain syndromes treatment. Low back pain is one of the most frequent reasons for seeking medical help. According to the literature 90% of people experience back pain at least once in their life and 10% of them have a chronic course of pain. There may be many reasons for this: inadequate pain treatment, poor compliance with treatment, drug resistance, self-treatment, use of alternative medicine, etc. Pain that bothers a person for a long time significantly reduces the quality of life, affects cognitive functions and emotional state, and leads to a distorted perception of oneself body. Patients with pain contribute significantly to the financial losses of society in the form of lost wages and productivity. Low back pain is recognized worldwide as the most significant condition in relation to the number of years lived with disability. When patients are insensitive to treatment or its effectiveness is low, doctors resort to the use of non-pharmacological approaches. One of the modern and new options is the use of virtual reality. This technology allows the patient to distract himself from his pain and thus be out of the fear of movement. Studying and applying new non-pharmacological pain management methods may allow patients to reduce their medication use and increase compliance with treatment, as well as help to reduce the number of people with chronic pain.