• Gongkai Ye, Ryan G L Koh, Kishore Jaiswal, Harghun Soomal, and Dinesh Kumbhare.
• KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network.
• Clin J Pain. 2023 Sep 1; 39 (9): 491500491-500.

ObjectivesThere has been a major interest in using virtual reality (VR) as a pain-management tool. This systematic review evaluated the literature on the use of VR in the treatment of chronic nonspecific neck pain (CNNP).MethodsElectronic database searches were conducted in Cochrane, Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus between inception and November 22, 2022. Search terms used were synonyms of "chronic neck pain" and "virtual reality." Inclusion criteria were as follows: chronic neck pain patients or pain lasting longer than 3 months; nonspecific neck pain; adult population; VR intervention; and functional and/or psychological outcomes. Study characteristics, quality, participant demographics, and results were independently extracted by 2 reviewers.ResultsVR interventions demonstrated significant improvement in patients experiencing CNNP. Scores in the visual analogue scale, the Neck Disability Index, and range of motion were significantly improved compared with baseline but not better than gold standard kinematic treatments.DiscussionOur results suggest that VR is a promising tool for chronic pain management; however, there is a lack of VR intervention design consistency, objective outcome measures, follow-up reporting, and large sample sizes. Future research should focus on designing VR interventions to serve specific, individualized movement goals as well as combining quantifiable outcomes with existing self-report measures.Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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