Patients with back pain benefited from at-home VR program - Healio

LAS VEGAS — Patients with chronic debased backmost symptom who utilized the home-based RelieVRx programme experienced simplification successful symptom strength and interference with activity, sleep, temper and stress, according to a poster presented astatine PAINWeek 2022.

Todd Maddox, PhD, vice president of probe and improvement astatine RelieVRx manufacturer, AppliedVR, and colleagues explained successful the poster that chronic debased backmost symptom is disabling and costly and its prevalence continues to rise. First-line treatments are symptom acquisition and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Source: Adobe Stock

RelieVRx is described successful the poster arsenic an FDA-approved “immersive, multimodal, skills-based symptom self-management virtual world (VR) programme that incorporates evidence-based principles of CBT, mindfulness and symptom neuroscience education.”

Study participants included 188 adults (77% women; 91% white; mean age, 51.5 years), with backmost symptom lasting astatine slightest 6 months and mean symptom strength of astatine slightest 4 retired of 10. They were randomized to either a 56-day, doubly regular VR programme with RelieVRx oregon sham VR, according to the poster.

Researchers observed “clinical meaningful reductions” successful symptom strength (42% astatine extremity of attraction [EoT], 31% astatine 6 months post-treatment), symptom interference with enactment (49% EoT, 35% post-treatment), slumber (52% EoT, 45% post-treatment), temper (56% EoT, 39% post-treatment) and accent (57% EoT, 43% post-treatment).

These reductions were “significantly larger” than those seen successful the sham VR group, the researchers said successful the poster.

Even 18 months post-treatment, “clinically meaningful reductions” successful these variables persisted: 42% for simplification successful symptom interference with activity, 38% for sleep, 47% for temper and 48% for stress, according to researchers.

“Only symptom strength (26%) did not scope the 30% threshold,” Maddox and colleagues said.

The RelieVRx showed statistically important results that were durable for 18 months, AppliedVR main aesculapian serviceman Charisse Sparks, MD, told Healio.

She explained that the diligent rents and returns the VR goggles to a specialty pharmacy. If they person WiFi, adherence information from the league tin beryllium sent to the provider; otherwise, it is collected connected the device.

The exertion presently is successful constricted distribution, successful California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada, Sparks said.

“We’re trying to rotation it retired close and recognize the marketplace successful presumption of reimbursement,” Sparks said. “We’re successful the process of getting commercialized reimbursement, past to get Medicare and Medicaid.”

The researchers said successful the poster that aboriginal probe could measure the efficacy of a booster regimen of RelieVRx successful expanding the grade and duration of the benefits.