A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-Based Rehabilitation Therapy on Reducing the Degree of Pain Experienced by Individuals with Low Back Pain

Taeseok Choi, Seoyoon Heo, Wansuk Choi and Sangbin Lee ()
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Taeseok Choi: Department of Physical Therapy, Howon University, Gunsan 54058, Republic of Korea
Seoyoon Heo: Department of Occupational Therapy, Kyungbok University, Namyangju 11138, Republic of Korea
Wansuk Choi: Department of Physical Therapy, International University of Korea, Jinju 17731, Republic of Korea
Sangbin Lee: Department of Physical Therapy, Namseoul University, Cheonan 31020, Republic of Korea

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: Background: The concept of virtual reality (VR)-based rehabilitation therapy for treating people with low back pain is of growing research interest. However, the effectiveness of such therapy for pain reduction in clinical settings remains controversial. Methods: The present study was conducted according to the reporting guidelines presented in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses statement. We searched the PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, and ProQuest databases for both published and unpublished papers. The Cochrane risk of bias tool (version 2) was used to evaluate the quality of the selected studies. GRADEprofiler software (version 3.6.4) was used to evaluate the level of evidence. We analyzed the included research results using RevMan software (version 5.4.1). Results: We included a total of 11 articles in the systematic review and meta-analysis, with a total of 1761 subjects. Having assessed the quality of these studies, the risk of bias was generally low with high heterogeneity. The results revealed a small to medium effect (standardized mean difference = ±0.37, 95% confidence interval: 0.75 to 0) based on evidence of moderate overall quality. Conclusion: There is evidence that treatment using VR improves patients’ pain. The effect size was small to medium, with the studies presenting evidence of moderate overall quality. VR-based treatment can reduce pain; therefore, it may help in rehabilitation therapy.

Keywords: virtual reality; low-back pain; head-mounted display; visual analog scale; numerical rating scale (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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