Beyond Distraction: Virtual Reality Graded Exposure Therapy as Treatment for Pain‐Related Fear and Disability in Chronic Pain

The current review describes a novel virtual reality ( VR ) paradigm intended to optimize graded exposure treatment for pain‐related fear and associated disability in chronic musculoskeletal pain, focusing on chronic low back pain. By combining an established treatment protocol with the innovative K inect system by Microsoft, virtual reality graded exposure therapy ( VRGET ) addresses several central limitations of traditional exposure and VR approaches to pain/disability treatment. In addition to mitigating costs associated with traditional exposure protocols, the VRGET platform facilitates patient treatment engagement, provides real‐time assessment of valuable outcome variables such as affective response and kinematic adaptation, and promotes generalizability of treatment gains across clinical and home environments. The current review provides an overview of current and future clinical directions for this new technology.