Scientist set to rollout virtual reality Digital Medicine to Combat Pain

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"If I don't have nerve pain, I might have joint pain. If I'm not having joint pain, I might have headaches," Greene said.

The unrelenting pain is a symptom of lupus, an autoimmune disease in which a patient's immune system attacks the body. Greene has tried acupuncture, massage and opioids, but realized she was allergic to the addictive pain medicine.

The newest therapy that excites her: virtual reality. Greene participated in a test through the company "appliedVR" to see if and how virtual reality could help patients. Greene's virtual experience helped her to relax and trained her to breathe in a specific way. She saw a tree, crystals, water and her breath as she was guided to inhale and exhale.

"It worked. It works for me," Greene said. "It's the quality of life, it is the range of motion, it is like, forget about quality of life, it is the life."

VR in hospitals and clinics

Brennan Spiegel is a gastroenterologist who has used VR for his patients. He said abdominal pain and gastrointestinal discomfort, in some cases, are related to a patient's mental state.

"Something like virtual reality actually can intercede in the brain-gut axis and sort of rewire the neurocircuitry in a way that helps to reduce abdominal pain," said Spiegel, who is also director of Health Services Research at Cedars-Sinai and heads its virtual reality program.

FILE - A hospital patient uses virtual reality treatment for pain in this undated photo.
FILE - A hospital patient uses virtual reality treatment for pain in this undated photo.
More than 2,500 patients have been treated with virtual reality at Cedars-Sinai, a hospital with the largest documented therapeutic VR program in the world, according to Spiegel.

"Virtual reality can reduce pain, can reduce blood pressure, can improve quality of life, reduce anxiety and now, we're looking to see can it do really important things like reduce the need for opioids."

Spiegel said more than 100 hospitals across the United States are using VR as a form of therapy for patients to help manage symptoms such as pain and anxiety. He said an increasing number of countries worldwide are taking an interest, and doctors are starting to develop international guidelines on how to apply and validate the technology in health care.

Spiegel is now taking virtual reality outside the hospital to partner clinics such as Attune Health in Los Angeles, where many of the patients suffer from autoimmune or inflammatory diseases that cause symptoms such as joint pain.

A rheumatologist and founder of Attune Health, Swamy Venuturupalli is conducting a study on how VR can reduce the pain levels of patients in his clinic. Virtual experiences include swimming with dolphins and meditation exercises before a campfire. Venuturupalli said VR is not just a distraction for patients experiencing pain; it can also train them in deep breathing exercises and biofeedback.