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Virtual reality reduces musculoskeletal pain, especially in the neck, back, and knees, while boosting physical and mental well-being, making it a promising adjunct to conventional therapies.
Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain continues to be a widespread health challenge, affecting the neck, back, and limbs, and often diminishing both physical capacity and mental well-being. While conventional therapies are available, their effectiveness remains limited, leaving many patients with lingering pain symptoms. This gap in care has prompted researchers to explore novel, technology-driven interventions that could complement or even replace standard treatments. Among these, virtual reality (VR) is rapidly gaining attention as an innovative tool for pain relief and rehabilitation.
The goal of this study was to examine whether VR can serve as an effective adjunct or alternative to conventional therapies for MSK pain, and to identify the conditions, approaches, and settings where VR demonstrates the greatest potential. Researchers systematically screened PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases, adhering to preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, to capture recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses focused on VR-based interventions for MSK pain. In total, 17 eligible studies were included.
The quality of these studies was appraised using the AMSTAR-2 (A meaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews) tool, and the degree of overlap across reviews was quantified through the corrected covered area metric. The analysis revealed that VR-based interventions produced meaningful reductions in pain and improvements in physical and psychological outcomes for patients with MSK conditions, particularly those with neck, knee, and back pain. Both immersive and non-immersive VR formats, as well as gamified approaches, showed encouraging results, with patients generally receptive to VR therapies.
The most promising outcomes emerged when VR was paired with exercise programs, highlighting the value of multimodal treatment strategies. This review suggests that VR holds significant promise as an adjunct therapy for MSK pain, offering innovative pathways to enhance patient care. While current findings are encouraging, the authors emphasize the importance of future research with standardized protocols, broader clinical applications, and personalized approaches to fully establish VR’s role in pain management.
Frontiers in Medicine
Virtual reality for the management of musculoskeletal pain: an umbrella review
Sultan Kalikanov et al.
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