Active VR Games Reduce Pain Sensitivity in Young, Healthy Adult

Author/Creator

Eric Evans, Keith E. Naugle, Alex Ovispo, Anthony S. Kaleth, Brent Arnold, Kelly M. Naugle

Quick Summary

Research indicates that engaging in active virtual reality (VR) games can significantly reduce pain sensitivity in young, healthy adults. This effect is primarily attributed to distraction, as participants focus on the VR environment rather than the pain stimulus. Previous studies have shown that both passive and active VR engagement can lead to lower pain levels, but most prior research has concentrated on passive experiences with limited exposure time.

Abstract

Research on virtual reality (VR) as a method of pain reduction has significantly grown in the past 2 decades. This research suggests that passively engaging in VR reduces acute pain sensitivity in healthy and clinical adult populations (Magora et al., 2006; Law et al., 2011; Jin et al., 2016; Glennon et al., 2018). It is suggested that a common mechanism that reduces pain perception in adults during VR primarily relies on distraction, where participants’ attention is directed towards the VR environment instead of the pain stimulus (Hayashi et al., 2019). Additionally, distraction could be attributed to the inability of sensory systems to focus on multiple simultaneously active pain stimuli, thereby reducing pain (McCaul and Malott, 1984; Hoffman et al., 2007). For example, in a study examining the effects of VR on ischemic pain, participants reported lower pain levels and spent less time thinking about the induced pain while engaging in a VR environment compared to not undergoing a VR stimulus (Hoffman et al., 2003). Similarly, earlier work in VR and pain has shown positive distraction effects of engaging in VR environments for adults and adolescents who experienced burn pain (Hoffman et al., 2000a; Hoffman et al., 2000b). However, these prior studies on VR’s effects on pain have primarily focused on passive engagement (little to no physical activity) or involved short exposure time to VR technology.

Frontiers | Active Virtual Reality Games Reduce Pain Sensitivity in Young, Healthy Adults

Separately, both physical activity and virtual reality can attenuate pain sensitivity in healthy adults. What is unknown is whether virtual reality combined ...