Comparison of pain intensity from lower back pain with VR compared to a placebo 2020

Published by Statista Research Department, Feb 13, 2024

It was found in a study in the United States in 2020, that sufferers of chronic low back pain reported a reduction in levels of pain after participating in an immersive virtual reality program. After eight weeks of using the EaseVRx program, the mean pain intensity reported dropped from 4.5 to 2.9, while the placebo group reported a decrease in pain level of just 0.7 after the end of the treatment.

Self-reported pain index levels from chronic lower back pain sufferers after starting a program of EaseVRx compared to a placebo in the United States 2020

Characteristic	EaseVRx treatment program	Placebo/Sham VR
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Release date

February 2021

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

2020

Number of respondents

179*

Age group

18-81 years

Special properties

Patients with chronic low back pain lasting six months or more

Supplementary notes

Pain intensity was rated of a scale between 0=no pain and 10=as bad as it could be and nothing else matters.

The placebo was reffered to in the study as a Sham VR was a headset involving non-interactive 2D nature scenes. While the EaseVRx was billed as "a multifacedted combination of pain relief skills training through a prescribed sequence of daily immersive experiences"

* 89 participants were assigned the immersive VR experience and 90 were using the placebo.

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