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Self-Administered Skills-Based Virtual Reality Intervention for Chronic Pain
Not Recruiting
Trial ID: NCT04345575
Purpose
Chronic pain management is optimized with a multidisciplinary biopsychosocial treatment
approach. However, patients have limited access to comprehensive care that includes
behavioral medicine for chronic pain. Virtual reality (VR) is an immersive technology and
emerging digital behavioral pain therapeutic with analgesic efficacy for acute pain. No
scientific literature was found for skills-based VR behavioral programs for chronic pain
populations.
The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a self-administered VR
program that included content and skills informed by evidence-based cognitive behavioral
treatment for chronic pain. The secondary goal was to determine the preliminary efficacy of
the VR program in terms of average pain intensity and pain-related interference with
activity, stress, mood, and sleep, and its impact on pain-related cognition and
self-efficacy. The tertiary goal was to conduct a randomized controlled trial to compare the
VR treatment to an audio-only treatment; this comparison isolated the immersive effects of
the skills-based VR program, thereby informing potential mechanisms of effect.
Official Title
Self-Administered Skills-Based Virtual Reality Intervention for Chronic Pain: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study
Stanford Investigator(s)
Beth Darnall
Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine (Adult Pain) and, by courtesy, of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (General Psychiatry & Psychology (Adult))
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- English-fluent
- adults 18-65 years old
- have either self-reported chronic low back pain without radicular symptoms and/or
fibromyalgia pain of > 6 months duration
- average pain intensity > 4 (using the 11-point Numerical Rating Scale; 0=no pain,
10=worst pain imaginable) over the past month at screening.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Cognitive impairment
- Current or prior diagnosis of epilepsy, dementia, migraines or other neurological
disease that may prevent the use of VR
- Hypersensitivity to flashing light or motion
- No stereoscopic vision or severe hearing impairment
- Injury to eyes, face or neck that prevents comfortable use of VR
- Pain related to cancer
- Active suicidal ideation or severe depression
- Previous use of Pain Care VR for pain
Intervention(s):
device: PainCare VR
other: Audio content
Not Recruiting
Contact Information
Stanford University
School of Medicine
300 Pasteur Drive
Stanford,
CA
94305