Hypnotic Enhancement of Virtual Reality Distraction Analgesia during Thermal Pain: A Randomized Trial.

Excessive pain during medical procedures is a pervasive health challenge. This study tested the (additive) analgesic efficacy of combining hypnotic analgesia and virtual reality (VR) pain distraction. A single blind, randomized, and controlled trial was used to study 205 undergraduate volunteers aged 18 to 20. The individual and combined effects of hypnotic analgesia (H) and VR distraction on experimentally induced acute thermal pain were examined using a 2 X 2, between-groups parallel design (4 groups total). Participants in groups that received hypnosis remained hypnotized during the test phase pain stimulus. The main outcome measure was "worst pain" ratings. Hypnosis reduced acute pain even for people who scored low on hypnotizability. As predicted, H+ VR was significantly more effective than VR distraction alone. However, H+ VR was not significantly more effective than hypnotic analgesia alone. Being hypnotized during thermal pain enhanced VR distraction analgesia.

INTERACTIVITY INFLUENCES THE MAGNITUDE OF VIRTUAL REALITY ANALGESIA.

Despite medication with opioids and other powerful pharmacologic pain medications, most patients rate their pain during severe burn wound care as severe to excruciating. Excessive pain is a widespread medical problem in a wide range of patient populations. Immersive virtual reality (VR) distraction may help reduce pain associated with medical procedures. Recent research manipulating immersiveness has shown that a high tech VR helmet reduces pain more effectively than a low tech VR helmet. The present study explores the effect of interactivity on the analgesic effectiveness of virtual reality. Using a double blind design, in the present study, twenty-one volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two groups, and received a thermal pain stimulus during either interactive VR, or during non-interactive VR. Subjects in both groups individually glided through the virtual world, but one group could look around and interact with the environment using the trackball, whereas participants in the other group had no trackball. Afterwards, each participant provided subjective 0-10 ratings of cognitive, sensory and affective components of pain, and the amount of fun during the pain stimulus. Compared to the non-interactive VR group, participants in the interactive VR group showed 75% more reduction in pain unpleasantness (p < .005) and 74% more reduction in worst pain (p < .005). Interactivity increased the analgesic effectiveness of immersive virtual reality.