• Sacha Moreau, Alexandra Thérond, Ivo H Cerda, Kachina Studer, Alicia Pan, Jacob Tharpe, Jason E Crowther, Alaa Abd-Elsayed, Chris Gilligan, Reda Tolba, Sait Ashina, Michael E Schatman, Alan D Kaye, R Jason Yong, and Christopher L Robinson.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, USA.
• Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2024 Apr 8.

Purpose Of ReviewThis review critically analyzes the recent literature on virtual reality's (VR) use in acute and chronic pain management, offering insights into its efficacy, applications, and limitations.Recent FindingsRecent studies, including meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials, have demonstrated VR's effectiveness in reducing pain intensity in various acute pain scenarios, such as procedural/acute pain and in chronic pain conditions. The role of factors such as immersion and presence in enhancing VR's efficacy has been emphasized. Further benefits have been identified in the use of VR for assessment as well as symptom gathering through conversational avatars. However, studies are limited, and strong conclusions will require further investigation. VR is emerging as a promising non-pharmacological intervention in pain management for acute and chronic pain. However, its long-term efficacy, particularly in chronic pain management, remains an area requiring further research. Key findings highlight that VR programs vary in efficacy depending on the specificity of the origin of pain.© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

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