In the last 30 years there has been a dramatic increase in the survival rates of persons who suffer large burns. The increase in survival rates has highlighted rehabilitation issues, such as scarring, contractures, psychological adjustment and pain. Unfortunately, there is virtually no research that has focused on effective treatments for post-hospital pain that burn survivors experience. Consistent with the guidelines of an RO3, this is a pilot project that will test the efficacy of an innovative intervention to treat chronic burn pain that will be used to launch a larger program of study in this area with a goal of improving the quality of life for burn survivors. As a broader objective, if effective, this intervention has the potential to impact millions of people who suffer from chronic pain. The PIs will use virtual reality technology to assist with hypnosis, known as virtual reality hypnosis, which would eliminate the need for multiple sessions with a trained clinician and allow burn survivors from rural areas to benefit from hypnotic analgesia. Participants in this project will be adults and adolescents who were burned in the last two years and still have pain, and who have been weaned off their opiate medication and are coming back to the outpatient burn clinic for routine follow-up. They will be assigned to one of two groups that include virtual reality hypnosis and virtual reality distraction. Participants will be followed for one month to determine the impact the intervention has had on their pain, quality of sleep and their mood. This project proposes an innovative, state of the art intervention to treat ongoing, chronic pain in persons who have survived a burn injury. The PIs propose to use virtual reality technology to induce hypnosis that is structured to reduce discomfort from burns. Hypnosis has been shown to be an effective treatment for chronic pain from all different sources. Virtual reality technology has decreased dramatically in cost over the years and the merger between virtual reality and hypnosis will allow more people to benefit from hypnosis without having to find and train live therapists. This has the potential to reach millions of people affected by chronic pain.
This project proposes an innovative, state of the art intervention to treat ongoing, chronic pain in persons who have survived a burn injury. We propose to use virtual reality technology to induce hypnosis that is structured to reduce discomfort from burns. Hypnosis has been shown to be an effective treatment for chronic pain from all different sources. Virtual reality technology has decreased dramatically in cost over the years and the merger between virtual reality and hypnosis will allow more people to benefit from hypnosis without having to find and train live therapists. This has the potential to reach millions of people affected by chronic pain.
| Patterson, David R; Jensen, Mark P; Wiechman, Shelley A et al. (2010) Virtual reality hypnosis for pain associated with recovery from physical trauma. Int J Clin Exp Hypn 58:288-300 |
| Wiechman Askay, Shelley; Magyar-Russell, Gina (2009) Post-traumatic growth and spirituality in burn recovery. Int Rev Psychiatry 21:570-9 |
| Wiechman Askay, Shelley; Patterson, David R; Sharar, Samuel R et al. (2009) Pain management in patients with burn injuries. Int Rev Psychiatry 21:522-30 |
