Virtual Reality vs Opioids to Address Chronic Pain?

Cedars-Sinai is one of an increasing number of hospitals testing how virtual reality (VR) could improve patient outcomes. For the past few years, Brennan Spiegal, a gastroenterologist and clinical researcher, has been conducting trials that show a pair of VR goggles can alleviate a patient’s experience of pain by as much as a quarter.

Currently, Spiegel is testing the technology for treating chronic pain – the kind that afflicts more than 25 million Americans. “Acute pain is a perfect match for virtual reality. You only need it for 10 minutes, and it has drastic effects,” says VR pioneer Hunter Hoffman, a researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle. Chronic pain proves to be a more challenging issue to address. Despite this, Hoffman thinks VR has the potential to enhance many treatments that already work.

All too often, addictive painkillers are the only treatment option available to patients. And with opioids claiming the lives of nearly 100 people every day, doctors are scrambling to find non-addictive alternatives. Virtual reality might soon be one of them.

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