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The effectiveness of virtual reality distraction for pain reduction: A systematic review
Abstract
Virtual reality technology enables people to become immersed in a computer-simulated, three-dimensional environment. This article provides a comprehensive review of controlled research on the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) distraction for reducing pain. To be included in the review, studies were required to use a between-subjects or mixed model design in which VR distraction was compared with a control condition or an alternative intervention in relieving pain. An exhaustive search identified 11 studies satisfying these criteria. VR distraction was shown to be effective for reducing experimental pain, as well as the discomfort associated with burn injury care. Studies of needle-related pain provided less consistent findings. Use of more sophisticated virtual reality technology capable of fully immersing the individual in a virtual environment was associated with greater relief. Overall, controlled research suggests that VR distraction may be a useful tool for clinicians who work with a variety of pain problems.
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“It is known that VW in this perspective is an established tool for acute affect modulation and acute pain relief [22, 23].”
From Virtual walking therapy in neuropathic spinal cord injury pain: a feasibility study (2024) · cites this paper as [23]
In the citing paper
“In VR relaxation [21] and VR pain management [36], presence is likely a mediator of intervention effects due to the inherent correlation with distraction from the outside and inside world”
From Experiences of gamified and automated virtual reality exposure therapy for spider phobia: qualitative study (2020) · cites this paper as [36]
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“Adaptive pain coping strategies such as distraction and positive coping self-statements facilitate adaptation to chronic pain while also decreasing sensitivity to experimental pain stimuli (Roditi et al., 2009; Malloy and Milling, 2010; Verhoeven et al., 2011).”
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Caola, B., Montalti, M., Zanini, A., Leadbetter, A., & Martini, M. (2018) · Perception · doi:10.1177/0301006618758211 · Cited by 22
“…the case of pain, these beneficial effects might be boosted in future studies by the vision of one’s own body (Longo, Betti, Aglioti, & Haggard, 2009; Martini, 2016; Martini et al., 2014) or by the highly distractive power of virtual reality scenarios (Hoffman et al., 2011; Malloy & Milling, 2010).”
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InfluentialWebster, R., & Rubin, G. J. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00775 · Cited by 21
Phelan, I., Furness, P. J., Matsangidou, M., Carrion-Plaza, A., Dunn, H. D., Dimitri, P., & Lindley, S. A. (2021) · Virtual Reality · doi:10.1007/s10055-021-00522-5 · Cited by 21
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“Nevertheless, in a systematic review on the effectiveness of virtual reality distraction for pain reduction, Malloy and Milling [57] reported that immersive virtual reality is more effective in reducing pain compared with non-immersive virtual reality.”
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“Analyzing the international literature, several applications of VR for different medical purposes have been described in adults, 13–17 but only few pediatric reports have been published.”
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“Distraction could be an alternative reason for a positive association between involvement in serious gaming and changes in pain intensity [53].”
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Czub, M., & Janeta, P. (2021) · Cyberpsychology Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace · doi:10.5817/cp2021-3-10 · Cited by 19
“There is substantial literature published on attention distraction from pain using VR technologies, both in experimental pain paradigms and various clinical populations (Hoffman et al., 2008; Jones et al., 2016; Malloy & Milling, 2010; Tashjian et al., 2017; Wender et al., 2019).”
BackgroundPais-Vieira, C., Gaspar, P. J. S., Matos, D., Alves, L. P., da Cruz, B. M., Azevedo, M. J., Gago, M. F., Poleri, T., Perrotta, A., & Pais-Vieira, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2022.909112 · Cited by 19
“…are complex phenomena that involve multiple neural networks (Arzy et al., 2006; Kilteni et al., 2012; Kilteni and Ehrsson, 2017) and which may result in discomfort related to pain or to VR side effects (Li et al., 2011; Martini et al., 2013; D’Alonzo et al., 2019; MatamalaGomez et al., 2019).”
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“5 There is limited support for the theory that virtual reality distraction is analgesic.”
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“Equally neuropathic pain may be reduced as a result of the motivational and distraction effects of the associated “virtual real-ity” aspects of the treatment (Malloy & Milling, 2010).”
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“However, several clinical, controlled trials demonstrated the efficacy of cybertherapy (Riva, 2003, 2005; Holden, 2005; Malloy and Milling, 2010; McCann et al., 2014).”
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“Implementation of immersive virtual reality (VR) in medicine has rapidly expanded in recent years and has been shown to be effective in reducing pain for procedures [6–8].”
Interactive Virtual Reality Reduces Quadriceps Pain during High-Intensity Cycling
Wender, C. L. A., Ahn, S. J., & O’CONNOR, P. J. (2019) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/mss.0000000000002016 · Cited by 19
Use of Virtual Reality to Reduce Anxiety and Pain of Adults Undergoing Outpatient Procedures
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Zhang, S., & Seymour, B. (2014) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.07.010 · Cited by 19
Acute Pain Management/Regional Anesthesia
Tedore, T. R., Weinberg, R. Y., Witkin, L. R., Giambrone, G. P., Faggiani, S. L., & Fleischut, P. M. (2015) · Anesthesiology Clinics · doi:10.1016/j.anclin.2015.07.005 · Cited by 19
Using Virtual Reality to Promote Physical Activity
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“Furthermore, VAS measures are commonly used in children and adults to quantify subjective experiences of pain and anxiety [5, 12, 13, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 31, 32].”
BackgroundInteracting with Augmented Reality Mirrors
Portalés, C., Gimeno, J., Casas, S., Olanda, R., & Martínez, F. G. (2016) · Advances in human and social aspects of technology book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0435-1.ch009 · Cited by 18
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“It is also likely that the ‘recreational’ nature of the treatment distracts from any fatigue and pain and motivates the patient to strive to improve his/her performance (Malloy & Milling, 2010).”
Al‐Nerabieah, Z., Alhalabi, M.-N., Owayda, A. M., Alsabek, L., Bshara, N. G., & Kouchaji, C. N. (2020) · Perioperative Care and Operating Room Management · doi:10.1016/j.pcorm.2020.100129 · Cited by 21
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Tangential Immersion: Increasing Persistence in Boring Consumer Behaviors
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Rischer, K. M., Anton, F., González‐Roldán, A. M., Montoya, P., & van der Meulen, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2022.828742 · Cited by 22
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“15 However, existing literature suggests limitations including inconclusive findings due to limited number of studies in the postoperative setting 16 ; inclusion of chronic or experimental pain conditions 17 ; or the focus of published reviews being nonsurgical pain settings.”
Preston, C., Gilpin, H. R., & Newport, R. (2019) · Musculoskeletal Science and Practice · doi:10.1016/j.msksp.2019.102080 · Cited by 16
Investigating the Effect of Virtual Reality on Reducing the Anxiety in Children: A Systematic Review
Ghaddaripouri, K., Baigi, S. F. M., Noori, N., & Habibi, M. R. M. (2022) · Frontiers in Health Informatics · doi:10.30699/fhi.v11i1.373 · Cited by 17
“VR technology can provide a platform for reducing children's anxiety by creating a sense of presence in an unreal world [15].”
BackgroundVirtual Reality and Other Realities
Botella, C., Baños, R. M., García-Palacios, A., & Quero, S. (2017) · The Science of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-803457-6.00022-2 · Cited by 16
Üstün, N., Akgöl, B. B., & Bayram, M. (2025) · BMC Oral Health · doi:10.1186/s12903-025-05770-4 · Cited by 16
“Meta-analysis and systemic studies [28, 51–54] reveal that the use of visual distractions reduced the dental anxiety of children during dental treatment [52, 54] and pain [51].”
Cangemi, D. J., Montenegro, M., Spiegel, B. M. R., & LACY, A. (2023) · The American Journal of Gastroenterology · doi:10.14309/ajg.0000000000002492 · Cited by 16
Woo, O. K. L., Lee, A. M., Ng, R., Eckhoff, D., Lo, R. S. K., & Cassinelli, Á. (2024) · Frontiers in Virtual Reality · doi:10.3389/frvir.2023.1304155 · Cited by 16
Heat pain modulation with virtual water during a virtual hand illusion
Käthner, I., Bader, T., & Pauli, P. (2019) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-019-55407-0 · Cited by 16
An Innovative Virtual Reality Experience in the PICU: A Pilot Study*
Badke, C. M., Essner, B. S., O’Connell, M., & Malakooti, M. (2019) · Pediatric Critical Care Medicine · doi:10.1097/pcc.0000000000001917 · Cited by 16
Effect of visual distraction on pain in adults undergoing colonoscopy: a meta-analysis
Zhang, Y., Ramoo, V., Chui, P. L., & Hilmi, I. N. (2022) · Surgical Endoscopy · doi:10.1007/s00464-022-09724-7 · Cited by 16
“Research indicates that the attentional capacity of people is limited and most can only focus on one thing at a time [39].”
BackgroundVitagliano, A., Dellino, M., Favilli, A., D’Amato, A., Nicolì, P., Laganà, A. S., Noventa, M., Bochicchio, M. A., Cicinelli, E., & Damiani, G. R. (2023) · Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology · doi:10.1016/j.jmig.2023.08.427 · Cited by 15
Jeon, H., Jo, T., Yeo, D., An, E., Kang, Y., & Kim, S. (2024) · Virtual Reality · doi:10.1007/s10055-024-01001-3 · Cited by 15
“By contrast, Malloy and Milling (2010), and Bos (2015) designed C5 (Distraction) to immerse the user by providing rich visual and auditory stimuli at timings identified as demanding SA through a pilot study.”
Virtual Reality (VR) Applications in Cardiology: A Review
Javaid, M., & Khan, I. H. (2021) · Journal of Industrial Integration and Management · doi:10.1142/s2424862221300015 · Cited by 15
Simulated Forest Immersion Therapy: Methods Development
Ross, A. M., & Jones, R. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19095373 · Cited by 16
Karaman, D., Erol, F., Yılmaz, D., & Dikmen, Y. (2019) · Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira · doi:10.1590/1806-9282.65.3.446 · Cited by 14
Babamohamadi, H., Karkeabadi, M., & Ebrahimian, A. (2021) · Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine · doi:10.1155/2021/9933876 · Cited by 15
“Quoting several studies, Malloy and Milling reported distraction as one of the oldest psychological interventions for pain relief with remarkable effects [25].”
BackgroundVirtual reality distraction during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: a randomized controlled trial
Boonreunya, N., Nopawong, E., Yongsiriwit, K., & Chirapongsathorn, S. (2022) · Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology · doi:10.1111/jgh.15786 · Cited by 14
Ahmad, M. M., Mohammad, E. B., Tayyem, E. A. I., Al‐Gamal, E., & Atout, M. M. W. (2023) · Health Care For Women International · doi:10.1080/07399332.2023.2257627 · Cited by 16
“VR is a form of distraction that helps the patients to become immersed in a three-dimensional environment with computer simulations (Malloy & Milling, 2010).”
BackgroundNaef, A. C., Gerber, S. M., Single, M., Müri, R. M., Hænggi, M., Jakob, S. M., Jeitziner, M., & Nef, T. (2023) · Frontiers in Medicine · doi:10.3389/fmed.2023.1268659 · Cited by 15
“This effect has long been explored in the literature, with many studies highlighting the usefulness of VR as a pain reduction tool (40, 41).”
BackgroundRosa, A., Ronsivalle, V., Fiorillo, L., & Arcuri, C. (2024) · Journal of Craniofacial Surgery · doi:10.1097/scs.0000000000010513 · Cited by 16
“17,18 However, recent technological advancements have introduced VR as a potential tool to manage dental phobia and enhance the dental experience for children.”
How Body Movement Influences Virtual Reality Analgesia?
Czub, M., & Piskorz, J. (2014) · International Conference on Interactive Technologies and Games (ITAG) · doi:10.1109/itag.2014.8 · Cited by 14
Body Movement Reduces Pain Intensity in Virtual Reality–Based Analgesia
Czub, M., & Piskorz, J. (2017) · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1080/10447318.2017.1412144 · Cited by 14
“Numerous studies show the effectiveness of this method both in a clinical context and in the laboratory, where experimental pain paradigms were used (for review see: Botella, Garcia-Palacios, Banos, Quero, & Breton-Lopez, 2008; Malloy & Milling, 2010; Wiederhold & Wiederhold, 2007).”
MethodZeroth, J. A., Dahlquist, L. M., & Foxen-Craft, E. C. (2018) · Scandinavian Journal of Pain · doi:10.1515/sjpain-2018-0123 · Cited by 14
Walter, C. M., Abbasian, N., & Olbrecht, V. A. (2020) · Anesthesiology Clinics · doi:10.1016/j.anclin.2020.04.002 · Cited by 14
Barcatta, K., Holl, E. A., Battistutta, L., van der Meulen, M., & Rischer, K. M. (2022) · Frontiers in Pain Research · doi:10.3389/fpain.2021.800258 · Cited by 13
“Previous research suggests that several factors influence the efficacy of cognitive distraction from pain in non-VR settings, yet little is known about their role in VR (3).”
BackgroundSupporting Self-Injury Recovery: The Potential for Virtual Reality Intervention
Kruzan, K. P., Whitlock, J. L., Bazarova, N. N., Miller, K. D., Chapman, J., & Won, A. S. (2020) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3313831.3376396 · Cited by 14
“This assumption is based on more than theory since interventions delivered through VR have already shown effcacy in auxiliary treatments for eating disorders [29, 51] and for pain management [42, 32].”
BackgroundVirtual Reality as Distraction Technique for Pain Management in Children and Adolescents
Atzori, B., Hoffman, H. G., Vagnoli, L., Messeri, A., & Grotto, R. L. (2017) · IGI Global eBooks · doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2255-3.ch518 · Cited by 14
Remapping Body Representation Using Virtual Reality in Chronic Neuropathic Pain: Systematic Review
Maggio, M. G., Bonanno, M., Calderone, A., Rizzo, A., Bulut, N., Bahramizadeh, M., Benenati, A., Tomaiuolo, F., Quartarone, A., Floridia, D., et al. (2025) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/71074 · Cited by 16
“VR has emerged as a promising tool to fully immerse patients in simulated environments, using devices such as headsets and noise-canceling headphones to create interactive experiences [26].”
Fu, H., Garrett, B., Tao, G., Cordingley, E., Ofoghi, Z., Taverner, T., Sun, C., & Cheung, T. (2021) · JMIR Biomedical Engineering · doi:10.2196/26332 · Cited by 13
“Therefore, immersive VR interventions using stereoscopic head-mounted displays (HMDs) have been proposed as powerful tools for providing visual, audio, cognitive, and emotional engagement [45-47].”
BackgroundWender, C. L. A., Tomporowski, P. D., Ahn, S. J., & O’Connor, P. J. (2022) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113779 · Cited by 14
Bailey, R. B. (2022) · Medicine · doi:10.1097/md.0000000000029357 · Cited by 14
“The visual, auditory, and kinesthetic multisensory nature of VR allows patients to be fully immersed in the experience, which can provide a distraction, or allow patients to experience phenomenon that can be therapeutic.([5,6]) VR has been successfully utilized for pain management, and as a useful distraction while un…”
BackgroundCioeta, M., Pournajaf, S., Goffredo, M., Giovannico, G., & Franceschini, M. (2023) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm12051926 · Cited by 13
“Finally, in a musculoskeletal study, it is important to describe in detail the home exercise program to allow for the definition of an optimal dosage for patient recovery [36]; this is even more important in virtual reality, an emerging field of rehabilitation [37].”
BackgroundOrgil, Z., Karthic, A., Bell, N. F., Heisterberg, L. M., Williams, S. E., Ding, L., Kashikar‐Zuck, S., King, C. D., & Olbrecht, V. A. (2024) · JMIR Perioperative Medicine · doi:10.2196/48959 · Cited by 13
“As technological advances have allowed for greater use of virtual reality (VR), VR has been implemented in many clinical situations to minimize pain during acutely painful procedures [33-42].”
BackgroundAge-related differences in functional connectivity associated with pain modulation
van der Meulen, M., Rischer, K. M., González‐Roldán, A. M., Terrasa, J. L., Montoya, P., & Anton, F. (2024) · Neurobiology of Aging · doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.04.008 · Cited by 13
“Distraction is also increasingly employed in clinical settings, for example using virtual reality technology, or as part of cognitive behavioral therapy (Levy et al., 2010; Malloy and Milling, 2010; V ´ azquez-Rivera, et al., 2009).”
Quantifying virtual reality pain modulation in healthy volunteers: A randomized, crossover study
Neiman, N., Falkson, S. R., Rodríguez, S., Wang, E., Hemphill, S. F., Khoury, M., Kist, M. N., Jackson, C. D., & Caruso, T. J. (2022) · Journal of Clinical Anesthesia · doi:10.1016/j.jclinane.2022.110876 · Cited by 14
Wolf, S., Zanker, J., Sommer, F., Vlasenko, D., Pinto, D. R. M., Hoffmann, M., Anthuber, M., & Schrempf, M. C. (2022) · Pilot and Feasibility Studies · doi:10.1186/s40814-022-01213-x · Cited by 15
Does visualisation during urethrocystoscopy provide pain relief? Results of an observational study
Koenig, J., Sevinc, S., Frohme, C., Heers, H., Hofmann, R. W., & Hegele, A. (2015) · BMC Urology · doi:10.1186/s12894-015-0053-2 · Cited by 13
“We expected that distraction would decrease the level of pain patients experienced during the procedure [12].”
BackgroundVirtual reality distraction from painful procedures in the paediatric emergency department
Knight, K., McClenaghan, C. E., & Singh, B. (2018) · Archives of Disease in Childhood · doi:10.1136/archdischild-2018-315921 · Cited by 13
Personality Assessment in Ecological Settings by Means of Virtual Reality
Cipresso, P., & Riva, G. (2016) · doi:10.1002/9781119173489.ch18 · Cited by 13
Özyurt, Ö., Çağıltay, N. E., Özyurt, H., & Akgün, A. (2021) · Journal of Pedagogical Research · doi:10.33902/jpr.2021067651 · Cited by 12
“…conducted in the fields of education (Martin- Gutiérrez et al., 2017; Mikropoulos & Natsis, 2011), healthcare/medicine (Bracq et al., 2019; Dascal et al., 2017; Malloy & Milling, 2010), surgery (Moglia et al., 2016), and tourism (Beck et al., 2019; Yang et al., 2017; Yung & KhooLattimore, 2019).”
BackgroundTop-down effect of body representation on pain perception
Matsumuro, M., Ma, N., Miura, Y., Shibata, F., & Kimura, A. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0268618 · Cited by 12
“Therefore, the attentional factor discussed by previous studies [40, 41] did not offer a suitable explanation for the current results.”
BackgroundResultSlatman, S., Ostelo, R., van Goor, H., Staal, J. B., & Knoop, J. (2023) · BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders · doi:10.1186/s12891-023-06232-0 · Cited by 14
“VR is defined as “the interaction between a participant and a simulated three dimensional, immersive world” [13].”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Malloy, K. M., & Milling, L. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Hartford (US)
- Corresponding author
- Milling, Leonard S.
- ORCID
- Milling, Leonard S.
- Venue
- Clinical Psychology Review
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-12
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1011-1018
- ISSN
- 0272-7358 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2164662311
- Cited by
- 653
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 44 · 2025: 72 · 2024: 52 · 2023: 67 · 2022: 59 · 2021: 75 · 2020: 66 · 2019: 53 · 2018: 51 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 2.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Psychology Review (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Pediatric Pain Management Techniques
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Treatment
- Keywords
- virtual reality, distraction therapy, analgesia, experimental pain, immersion, pain management
- MeSH terms
- Attention, Burns, Humans, Injections, Pain, Research, User-Computer Interface, Treatment Outcome, Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic, Pain Management
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