Harnessing virtual reality (VR) to treat chronic pain

Discover how VR could help those living with chronic pain in this talk by Dr Nicholas Shenker, Director of the Rheumatology Research Unit at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and Trustee of the Cambridge Arthritis Research Endeavour (CARE) charity. The talk will be available on demand throughout the Festival at https://www.cambridge-arthritis.org.uk/. VR has evolved from a science fiction concept to a technology now poised to become commonplace. VR headsets enable users to experience and interact with a computer-generated 3D environment. Pain management is becoming a key medical application. Almost 28 million UK adults live with chronic pain and low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide.

Often debilitating and distressing, chronic pain can seriously affect people’s quality of life. Some types of chronic pain result from inflammation or damage to the body’s tissues, as in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. In other conditions, such as fibromyalgia, the complex reasons for ongoing pain are less well understood. Current treatments can be ineffective, and new solutions are urgently needed. Research has shown that VR can effectively manage acute pain, such as post-burn pain. The challenge now is to determine how VR can assist with pain conditions that last months or years. Dr Shenker will discuss how he and colleagues collaborated with industry to develop interactive VR programmes to treat chronic pain.

Testing among people with fibromyalgia have shown promising results, with reduced pain levels and high willingness to use VR for at-home pain management The Cambridge Arthritis Research Endeavour (CARE) charity is based at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and has supported groundbreaking research for over 30 years, helping patients who no longer respond to conventional therapies access new, potentially life-changing options. Its pioneering work has contributed to more effective treatments for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, juvenile arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and systemic lupus erythematosus.