Mobile devices as adjunctive pain management tools

Abstract

Approximately 108 million people in North America and Europe suffer from chronic pain. Virtual reality (VR) is a promising method for pain management in a clinical setting due to the distracting properties of an immersive virtual environment. In this study, we demonstrated the potential use of mobile phones as a means of delivering an easily accessible, immersive experience. Thirty-one patients tested VR pain distraction. Objective measurements of heart rate correlated to decreased anxiety, while, subjectively, patients also reported reduced levels of discomfort. The positive results of this study indicate that mobile phones can provide an immersive experience sufficient to deliver pain management distraction. Because mobile devices are widely available, the potential for developing pain management programs that are accessible has become a realistic possibility.

Figures

FIG. 1.

Time of pain exposure comparison. HMD, head-mounted display.

FIG. 2.

Compared to baseline, the Simple Descriptive Pain (SDP) intensity scale decreased when patients used the mobile phone (mean score decreased by 0.3). The SDP scale decreased further when patients were using the HMD (mean score decreased by 0.355, p<0.05).

FIG. 3.

The numerical pain scale decreased when subjects were using the mobile phone (mean score decreased by 0.66, p<0.002), and it further decreased by 0.32 when patients used the HMD.

FIG. 4.

The Visual Analog Pain Scale decreased when subjects were using the mobile phone pain distraction (mean score decreased by 0.58, p<0.02), and it further decreased by 0.445 (p<0.04) when the HMD was used.

FIG. 5.

At baseline, the mean heart rate was 74 beats per minute (bpm). When subjects used the mobile phone pain distraction, the mean heart rate decreased to 72 bpm, and then decreased to 70 bpm when subjects used the HMD.