Virtual reality as a therapy against back pain

Curing (or at least alleviating) chronic back pain with virtual reality is possible. At least that's what a group of Norwegian researchers believe, who have conducted some tests to that effect.

That Virtual Reality can not only be useful in the gaming sector, but also offers medical and therapeutic benefits, as we have already discussed in various Reports have shown for some time. But virtual reality can also help against back pain. A research group at the Norwegian University of Bergen suspects that chronic back pain can be treated via virtual reality by requiring participants to complete various exercises.

Pilot project unearths promising results

As part of a pilot project with ten pain patients between 18 and 65, who are familiar with fear of movement and injury from their everyday lives, the two Master's students Maja Sigerseth and Thomas Larsen had their software tested. Three different games, adapted to the respective pain level, can be selected. In these, one has to solve various tasks or engage in a virtual squash tournament.

The aim is always to make patients forget about their pain (at least for a short time), but at the same time to motivate them to exercise more - a concept that is quite common in pain therapy with the help of VR. The VR programme is intended to help people who fear that they could injure themselves or expose themselves to additional pain if they become active, say the researchers. They are introduced to movement again in a playful way.

Simple technique

The technology currently used is based on a commercial VR headset with a controller that is carried in the hand. This is used to complete the prescribed exercises, during which the participants are expected to work up a sweat.

One of the test persons, who suffered from back pain for over a year, which eventually radiated to the leg and knee area, is said to be pain-free by now and to have at least partially lost his fear of movement. The VR environment serves as a dry run, so to speak. How much of this could be due to a placebo effect is still unclear - but the small prototype system is to become a larger one as part of the work, Sigerseth and Larsen told Norwegian media.

As a result, the pilot project helped at least one of the test subjects, who had reportedly been suffering from back pain for over a year, to become pain-free. The researchers have announced that they will continue to work on their software and conduct more extensive tests in the future.

Source: Gamestar / Heise