Haptic Intelligence

Virtual Reality Treatment Displaying the Missing Leg Improves Phantom Limb Pain: A Small Clinical Trial

2021

Article

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Background: Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a common and in some cases debilitating consequence of upper- or lower-limb amputation for which current treatments are inadequate. Objective: This small clinical trial tested whether game-like interactions with immersive VR activities can reduce PLP in subjects with transtibial lower-limb amputation. Methods: Seven participants attended 5–7 sessions in which they engaged in a visually immersive virtual reality experience that did not require leg movements (Cool! TM), followed by 10–12 sessions of targeted lower-limb VR treatment consisting of custom games requiring leg movement. In the latter condition, they controlled an avatar with 2 intact legs viewed in a head-mounted display (HTC Vive TM). A motion-tracking system mounted on the intact and residual limbs controlled the movements of both virtual extremities independently. Results: All participants except one experienced a reduction of pain immediately after VR sessions, and their pre session pain levels also decreased over the course of the study. At a group level, PLP decreased by 28% after the treatment that did not include leg movements and 39.6% after the games requiring leg motions. Both treatments were successful in reducing PLP. Conclusions: This VR intervention appears to be an efficacious treatment for PLP in subjects with lower-limb amputation.

Author(s): Elisabetta Ambron and Laurel J. Buxbaum and Alexander Miller and Harrison Stoll and Katherine J. Kuchenbecker and H. Branch Coslett
Journal: Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair
Volume: 35
Number (issue): 12
Pages: 1100--1111
Year: 2021
Month: December
Department(s): Haptic Intelligence
Research Project(s): Immersive VR for Phantom Limb Pain
Bibtex Type: Article (article)
DOI: 10.1177/15459683211054164
State: Published

BibTex 

@article{Ambron21-NNR-Pain,
  title = {Virtual Reality Treatment Displaying the Missing Leg Improves Phantom Limb Pain: A Small Clinical Trial},
  author = {Ambron, Elisabetta and Buxbaum, Laurel J. and Miller, Alexander and Stoll, Harrison and Kuchenbecker, Katherine J. and Coslett, H. Branch},
  journal = {Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair},
  volume = {35},
  number = {12},
  pages = {1100--1111},
  month = dec,
  year = {2021},
  doi = {10.1177/15459683211054164},
  month_numeric = {12}
}