Postgraduate Course at DDW: Complete Clinical Updates for Today's Practice

BO_Spiegel VR for Pain

Pdf Summary

The presentation by Dr. Brennan Spiegel focuses on the application of virtual reality (VR) for managing gastrointestinal (GI) pain. Dr. Spiegel presents no conflicts of interest, ensuring neutrality in his discourse on the subject. The document highlights the growing attention VR is receiving in the medical field, as demonstrated by its increasing mentions on PubMed over several decades.<br /><br />Dr. Spiegel stresses the importance of emotion, escape, and awe in modifying brain perception during physical distress. He references several studies, including his own published in PLOS ONE in 2019, which demonstrates VR's efficacy in reducing pain across different medical situations, such as burn dressing changes and childbirth.<br /><br />Different types of VR interventions are discussed, including non-immersive sham VR, immersive distraction VR, and immersive skills-based VR, which involves psychoeducation, pain education, breath training, relaxation, and executive functioning exercises. Results indicate a significant mean reduction in pain scores compared to traditional methods, demonstrating VR's effectiveness.<br /><br />Recent advancements in VR for GI conditions, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), involve modules spread across weeks to help manage symptoms and emotions. Activities include classroom VR modules, webapp tracking, and interactive VR rooms like the Theater of the Mind and the Zoom Out Room, offering patients comprehensive tools for pain management and emotional reflection.<br /><br />The presentation closes by acknowledging Cedars-Sinai as a relevant institution and mentioning the recognition of MXR (mixed-reality) as an FDA-recognized field of medicine. Dr. Spiegel also invites attendees to explore further resources on virtual medicine through www.virtualmedicine.org and the Virtual Medicine (vMed) Conference. <br /><br />For social media engagement, he provides handles for his personal account and the conference, giving a platform for continued discussion and dissemination of information on VR's impact on healthcare.

Keywords

virtual reality

gastrointestinal pain

Dr. Brennan Spiegel

VR interventions

pain management

immersive VR

PLOS ONE study

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

mixed-reality

virtual medicine