Cited by 653Virtual Reality Applications and ImpactsPediatric Pain Management TechniquesPain Management and Treatment

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The effectiveness of virtual reality distraction for pain reduction: A systematic review

Malloy, Kevin M., Milling, Leonard S.·2010·Clinical Psychology Review

DOI 10.1016/j.cpr.2010.07.001

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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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Result
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Background
Utilising Virtual Reality in Pain Management: A Systematic Review
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BackgroundResult
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Role of virtual reality distraction technique to improve chest burns with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) following smoke inhalation in middle-aged adults – A randomized controlled study
Nambi, G. S., Alghadier, M., Ebrahim, E. E., Eltayeb, M. M., Aldhafian, O. R., Mohamed, S. H. P., Khanam, H., Kashoo, F. Z., Albarakati, A. J. A., & Abdelbasset, W. K. (2023) · Burns · doi:10.1016/j.burns.2023.05.017 · Cited by 2
The effect of an audio-video stimulation on emotions: a virtual reality study
Burattini, C., Bisegna, F., D’Aurizio, G., & Curcio, G. (2023) · Immersive and 3D Audio: from Architecture to Automotive (I3DA) · doi:10.1109/i3da57090.2023.10289416 · Cited by 2
“The VR was validly used before in medical and psychological field as therapeutic support for patients [9-11]; several studies demonstrated the modulation role of the VR stimulation on mood, fear, stress, depression, and anxiety [12-17].”
Method
Use of Virtual Academic Environments During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Uludağ, K. (2024) · Advances in social networking and online communities book series · doi:10.4018/979-8-3693-5868-9.ch015 · Cited by 2
An Affective-Motivational Account of Interpersonal Dynamics in Pain
Vervoort, T., & Trost, Z. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-78340-6_4 · Cited by 2
Uses of Virtual Reality (VR) for Chronic Pain
Chi, B., Chau, B., & Ta, P. A. (2018) · Advances in psychology, mental health, and behavioral studies (APMHBS) book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-7168-1.ch013 · Cited by 2
Technological Innovations in Pediatric Psychological Consultation
Benore, E. R., Scott, E. L., & Webster, E. E. (2020) · Issues in clinical child psychology · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-35598-2_37 · Cited by 2
Augmented Medicine: Changing Clinical Practice with Artificial Intelligence
Briganti, G. (2021) · Computational biology · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-69951-2_14 · Cited by 2
Giving Birth on a Beach Women's Experiences of Using Virtual Reality in Labour A Pragmatic Mixed Methods Approach
Massov, L. (2021) · Open Access Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka (Figshare) · doi:10.26686/wgtn.17125649 · Cited by 3
Mix Reality in Reducing Operational Anxiety
Aydın, A., Serpici, A., & Gürsoy, A. (2022) · Gümüşhane Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi · doi:10.37989/gumussagbil.905103 · Cited by 1
Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
Nasir, N., Al-Shabi, M. A., Al‐Yateem, N., Rahman, S. A., Subu, M. A., Hijazi, H. H. A., Ahmed, F. R., Dias, J. M., Marzouqi, A. M. A., Alkawaldeh, M. Y., et al. (2023) · IEEE Annual International Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC) · doi:10.1109/compsac57700.2023.00219 · Cited by 2
A mini review on effect of virtual reality on Temporomandibular dysfunction
Patil, D. S., Kandarkar, M. M., Phansopkar, P. A., Wadhokar, O. C., & Mendhe, V. N. (2024) · AIP conference proceedings · doi:10.1063/5.0244806 · Cited by 1
Smartphone virtual reality for pain management during pediatric burn care transition: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Armstrong, M., Price, A., Coffey, R., Noffsinger, D. L., Thakkar, R. K., Fabia, R. B., Groner, J. I., Mandell, S. P., Ni, A., & Xiang, H. (2025) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-025-08860-4 · Cited by 1
“Pediatric clinicians widely utilize non-pharmacological pain management as a safe and affordable solution for procedural acute pain management [10, 11].”
Virtual reality for outpatient management of cancer pain: a pilot dosing study
Groninger, H., Violanti, D., McPherson, M. L., Hopkins, K., Carr, A. L., Hurtado, M., & Mete, M. (2025) · Supportive Care in Cancer · doi:10.1007/s00520-025-09723-z · Cited by 1
“Early clinical research in patients undergoing painful procedures such as burn care or dental procedures shows that brief VR sessions (e.g., 3–30 min) can lower self-reported pain scores, lower opioid drug use, and improve satisfaction with pain management [11–15].”
Integrating Physiologic Assessment into Virtual Reality-Based Pediatric Pain Intervention: A Feasibility Study
Marwah, H., Moldovanu, S. R., Reks, T., Anthony, B., & Logan, D. E. (2025) · Virtual Worlds · doi:10.3390/virtualworlds4040047 · Cited by 1
“The use of modern digital health tools has far-reaching possibilities for chronic pain management within the pediatric and young adult populations [7,8].”
Exploring Supervised LSTM Model on Multimodal Data to Detect Distracted Students in Immersive Educational VR Environments
Gautam, S., Fisher, N., & Kulshreshth, A. K. (2025) · ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction (SUI) · doi:10.1145/3694907.3765915 · Cited by 1
“Event-related potential (ERP) studies further reveal reliable visual processing markers, such as components peaking at 100–140 ms for stimuli like checkerboard patterns, with distinct occipital topography [33], and show how compelling VR visuals can modulate cognitive focus [40].”
Influential
Effect of use of virtual reality on morphine-sparing in patients with sickle cell disease for main management of vaso-occlusive crises in an adult emergency department
Dubreucq, E., Agut, S., Rousseau, A., Bourg, A., Bompard, R. P., Steichen, O., & Goulet, H. (2025) · European Journal of Emergency Medicine · doi:10.1097/mej.0000000000001282 · Cited by 1
Effect of virtual reality-based operating room simulation on surgical fear, hemodynamic parameters, and perception of care: A randomized controlled trial
Parlak, E. A., Erer, İ., & İyigün, E. (2025) · Clinical Simulation in Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.ecns.2025.101845 · Cited by 1
Using visual reality exposure therapy to manage pain during intrauterine device insertion: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Soliman, A., Elnagar, M. A., Shalaby, M. E., & Abdelmoaty, M. A. (2025) · Middle East Fertility Society Journal · doi:10.1186/s43043-025-00276-z · Cited by 1
“Recent interest has been sparked in using virtual reality (VR) technology as an alternative method for pain relief [18, 19, 20].”
XR body illusion for managing pain in fibromyalgia: examining optimal duration
Todd, J., Woolford, K. A., Cheng, L., Lee, M. C., de Villiers, E., Finn, D., & Aspell, J. E. (2025) · Virtual Reality · doi:10.1007/s10055-025-01241-x · Cited by 1
Impact of Virtual Reality-Based Rehabilitation on Postoperative Outcomes Following Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Zahed, M., Elmesalmi, M., Azaz, R., Elkilany, A., Elnaggar, N., Ahmed, F., Menawy, Z. E., Ramadan, N., Adel, M., & Elhady, M. M. (2026) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.101230 · Cited by 1
“This principle is grounded in the theory that complete immersion in a VR environment can reduce the brain’s capacity to perceive and interpret painful stimuli [17].”
Perioperative Treatment of Neuropathic Pain (Nerve SPACE 2025)
Mosa, A. J., Li, N. Y., Chamessian, A. G., Crock, L. W., Curtin, C. M., Belzberg, A. J., Buday, S. K., Loeffler, B. J., Janney, C., Mahan, M. A., et al. (2026) · Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online · doi:10.1016/j.jhsg.2025.100936 · Cited by 1
“27 Although evidence remains preliminary, VR represents an example of how technology may be leveraged to augment pain rehabilitation in the future.”
Emerging technologies in acute pain management
Ramanujam, V., Warzecha, H., Shah, Y. M., Moazezi, B., Rapsas, B., & Sawyer, K. (2026) · Pain Management · doi:10.1080/17581869.2026.2631514 · Cited by 1
A survey of augmented and virtual reality wearable displays in medical and surgical applications: architectures, requirements, performance, and benefits
Melzer, J. E. (2026) · Optical Architectures for Displays and Sensing in Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality (AR, VR, MR) · doi:10.1117/12.3081439 · Cited by 1
Virtual reality for pain control during intrauterine device insertion: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Awadh, N., Baradwan, S., Hafedh, B., Tawfiq, A., Hakeem, G. F., Alkaff, A., Alzawawi, N., Abduljabbar, H. H., Sabban, H., Latifah, H. M., et al. (2026) · European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology · doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2026.115087 · Cited by 1
The efficacy of virtual reality on pain and anxiety reduction during needle-related procedures in a pediatric emergency department setting: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Jing, J., Song, J., Song, W., Gong, S., Yi, K., & Ren, J. (2026) · Frontiers in Virtual Reality · doi:10.3389/frvir.2026.1759834 · Cited by 1
Reducing pain and anxiety with virtual reality in (outpatient) gynecological procedures: a systematic review with meta-analysis
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Developing a Virtual Reality Application for Social and Emotional Wellbeing and Cultural Determinants of Health Support With an Aboriginal Community of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: Protocol for an Acceptability and Feasibility Study
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Dynamic Abstract Avatars Impact Dancers' Sense of Embodiment and Movement Choices
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“Contemporary VR often encourages users to disassociate from physical sensation in favour of visual presentations, leveraging them for purposes such as distraction from pain [60], particularly during strenuous physical activities [65].”
Research and design of real-time human body video acquisition system
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“Subjective reports of pain during a variety of medical procedures in the clinical setting have been shown to drop approximately 40-50% when patients are distracted by immersive MR [7, 8].”
Background
Motion interactive games for children with motor disorders
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Effectiveness of Virtual Reality (VR) technology towards pain management during initial fixed orthodontic procedures: A case-control study
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Sedatie tijdens ingrepen op de operatiekamer
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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)
DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2010.07.001
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
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
www.elsevier.com/legal/tdmrep-license (tdm)
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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The effectiveness of virtual reality distraction for pain reduction: A systematic review

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