Skill-Based Virtual Reality Therapy in High-Impact Chronic Pain: 2-Year Follow-Up Results From a Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background High-impact chronic pain (HICP) involves substantial interference in functioning, affects 8.5% of the population, and leads to higher health care costs relative to low-impact chronic pain (LICP). Behavioral interventions such as virtual reality (VR) offer scalable and accessible treatment, but testing is needed to ensure durable effectiveness in HICP. We conducted a secondary analysis of the largest real-world dataset for a therapeutic skill-based VR vs a sham VR control to test treatment efficacy in HICP vs LICP. Relative to LICP, we found significantly larger (and clinically meaningful; ie, ≥2 points) pain interference and pain intensity reductions for HICP at end of treatment and 1 year posttreatment. End-of-treatment reduction in pain interference reclassified 70% (114/163) of participants with HICP as LICP, and this improvement held at 1 year posttreatment (104/155, 67%). Objective This study examined the effectiveness of a 56-session skill-based VR therapy in HICP at 2 years posttreatment and compared the effects with those on LICP. Methods We conducted a secondary analysis of the skill-based VR sample (536/1067, 50.2%) at 2 years posttreatment from a randomized controlled trial involving an in-home chronic low back pain sample that was recruited and tested online and was diverse (female: 411/536, 77%; non-White individuals: 166/536, 31%; high school or lower educational level: 102/536, 19%; mean age 50.8 years) and had clinically severe pain at baseline (intensity=6.6; interference=6.2; 42% with severe or complete disability). Focusing on the skill-based VR participants (536/1067, 50.2%) and using a validated approach, we classified participants at baseline as either HICP (baseline Brief Pain Inventory pain interference score>7) or LICP (baseline Brief Pain Inventory pain interference score<7). Clinical effectiveness was examined using a general linear model at 2 years posttreatment relative to baseline with the primary outcomes of pain interference and pain intensity. Results Participants with HICP (192/536, 35.8%) reported superior reductions in pain interference, pain intensity, sleep disturbance, and physical disability (P<.001 in all cases) at 2 years posttreatment compared to participants with LICP (344/536, 64.2%). Participants with HICP had clinically meaningful (≥2-point) reductions in pain interference (mean 3.1, 95% CI 2.66-3.54; effect size=1.12) and pain intensity (mean 2.6, 95% CI 2.18-3.02; effect size=1.01) at 2 years posttreatment. Importantly, reduced pain interference scores at 2 years posttreatment reclassified 71.1% (106/149) of the participants with HICP as LICP. No serious adverse events or side effects were reported. Conclusions Patients with HICP experience severe pain that drives high health care use. The skill-based VR therapy demonstrated durable reductions in pain and related outcomes 2 years posttreatment, with the largest benefits observed in the HICP subgroup. These results suggest that a skill-based, VR-delivered therapy produces durable effects in patients with HICP, a population that is frequently overmedicalized and undertreated with behavioral interventions. These findings suggest that home-based VR-delivered therapy offers a scalable treatment option for this underserved population.