The Effectiveness of Immersive Virtual Reality as a Pain Control Modality After Hip Arthroscopy

April 28, 2026 updated by: Michael Banffy, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
  1. The purpose of the research is to assess the efficacy of postoperative immersive virtual reality (iVR) compared to a standard multimodal pain regimen including opioids and a local block on acute postoperative pain management following hip arthroscopy
  2. The primary research procedures are medical record review for demographic information, head-mounted immersive virtual reality experience in PACU, and pre-operative and post-operative surveys
  3. The study will enroll adult patients of all ages undergoing elective hip arthroscopy procedures for any diagnosis

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The overall purpose of this prospective matched cohort investigation is to assess the efficacy of postoperative iVR compared to a standard multimodal pain regimen including opioids, on acute postoperative pain management following hip arthroscopy. The goal is to determine whether iVR in the immediate post-operative ambulatory setting would have any effect on subjective pain, anxiety, and nausea scores or on patients' opioid consumption. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of administering a head-mounted immersive virtual reality (iVR) experience to control postoperative pain and nausea in patients undergoing hip arthroscopy. The secondary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of specific iVR modules in pain perception and decreasing overall opioid use for post-operative pain control. We will prospectively compare a cohort of primary hip arthroscopy patients who receive postoperative iVR therapy in addition to the standard multimodal pain regimen (including a preoperative local field block) with a matched cohort of hip arthroscopy patients who receive only the standard regimen (including field block) in the acute postoperative ambulatory setting. On the day of surgery, the iVR group will receive a 30-minute sessions or "dose" of iVR therapy in the ambulatory post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) during their stay in addition to the standard postoperative pain protocol (including a pre-operative local field block). The three distraction-based or skills-based iVR modules will consist of either 1) Mindful Escape; 2) Empowered Breathing; or 3) Relaxation videos. The iVR group will be sub-randomized into receiving only one of the three types of modules. The modules will start approximately 30 minutes upon arriving in PACU and will last approximately 30 minutes. Both groups will receive the standard postoperative pain protocol on an as needed basis.

The duration of the study is three weeks (pre-operative visit, operative day, and first post-operative visit).

Patients will be screened and enrolled at their pre-operative visit. Included patients will be consented and will fill out the pre-operative questionnaires in order to provide baseline data. They will be randomized into the control group or the iVR therapy group. On the day of surgery, they will undergo their local field block by their anesthesiologist pre-operatively, undergo their hip arthroscopy procedure as indicated by their surgeon, and undergo their VR therapy in PACU as described above. They will be asked for their pain scores when leaving PACU, and their opioid medication usage during PACU will be recorded. Post-operative questionnaires will also be completed prior to discharge from PACU and at the first post-op visit.

The study involves participation at a single timepoint only. The study procedures to be done are listed below: Virtual Reality Therapy in PACU performed once as described above.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

70

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90045
        • Kerlan Jobe

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients 18 years of age or older with hip pathology
  • Failed non-operative treatment of hip pathology
  • Undergoing primary, elective and isolated hip arthroscopy for their hip pathology
  • Complete pre-operative and post-operative questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Minors (17 years of age and younger)
  • Traumatic injuries undergoing emergent surgery
  • Undergoing revision hip arthroscopic surgery
  • Do not complete pre-operative and post-operative questionnaires
  • Patients not able to undergo elective surgery
  • Pregnant women
  • Prisoners
  • Patients with conditions that interfere with VR usage including: history of seizure or epilepsy, facial injury precluding safe placement of headset, visual impairment impacting ability to visualize VR images, hearing impairment impacting ability to follow audio instructions

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Standard regimen +iVR Group
postoperative iVR therapy in addition to the standard multimodal pain regimen (including a preoperative local field block
Device: iVR Group
On the day of surgery, the iVR group will receive a 30-minute sessions or "dose" of iVR therapy in the ambulatory post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) during their stay. The three distraction-based or skills-based iVR modules will consist of either 1) Mindful Escape; 2) Empowered Breathing; or 3) Relaxation videos. The iVR group will be sub-randomized into receiving only one of the three types of modules. The modules will start approximately 30 minutes upon arriving in PACU and will last approximately 30 minutes.
Drug: Standard pain management regimen
In the ambulatory post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) during their stay with have standard postoperative pain protocol (including a pre-operative local field block).
Active Comparator: Standard regimen
hip arthroscopy patients who receive only the standard regimen (including field block) in the acute postoperative ambulatory setting
Drug: Standard pain management regimen
In the ambulatory post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) during their stay with have standard postoperative pain protocol (including a pre-operative local field block).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pain visual analog scale (VAS)
Time Frame: one time at Day 1 post operative
subjects rate their pain from 0-10, 0 being the least and 10 being the worst.
one time at Day 1 post operative

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Anxiety PACU questionnaire
Time Frame: one time Day 1 of surgery post-op
On a scale 1-9 1 being the least and 9 being the worst
one time Day 1 of surgery post-op
Nausea PACU Questionnaire
Time Frame: one time Day 1 of surgery post-op
On a scale none, slight, moderate and sever.
one time Day 1 of surgery post-op

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Investigators

  • Study Director: Karen Ladnier, MS, Cedar -Sinai Kerlan jobe orthopedic institute

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 1, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 25, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

April 25, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 28, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 10, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

May 22, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 28, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY00002535

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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