Virtual reality has also made its way into the world of physical therapy and neurology and is used in training soldiers for battle, athletes for optimal performance, students in medical training, working with conditions like PTSD or even as a component of treatment in patients complaining of pain, range of motion restrictions, and/or fear of movement. Like Jess' experience in Ugly Lies the Bone, the key in much of VR’s use in physical therapy is the level of immersion achieved and the functional tasks that are being performed during a person’s VR experience.
Below is a really interesting article! This article includes a video of a VR simulation of military combat, an audio story, and discussion around VR that mimics experiences in combat in order to work through PTSD and trauma experienced due to combat. Sounds counter-intuitive, yes? The treatment uses V.R. technology to immerse a patient in a three-dimensional environment that mimics a traumatic memory. Confronting the past in V.R. proved to him that he could survive revisiting his memories, which allowed him to work through his PTSD.
Below is a link to an article in the New York Times which talks about using VR as a pain management tool and for physical therapy. Brody talks about how VR works in pain management and therapy as well as a first-hand experience from Hollie Davis who used VR as a way to regain her mobility.
The artcile below is a great first-hand account of using VR as a method of rehabilitation after James Pokorny experienced burns over 42% of his body (similar to Jess). Pokorny states, "You're concentrating on different things, rather than your pain, [so] the pain level went down significantly." The article also talks about VR's use in psychology as a way to treat not only PTSD but anxiety, phobias, diabetic pain, and traumatic memories.
Virtual Reality is even being used as a way to train soldiers before being placed in a combat zone, helping them anticipate events/attacks before they happen and allowing them to discover a way through the event.
In the midst of a growing opioids epidemic, new methods of handling chronic pain (one of the leading causes of long-term disability) are being developed. Virtual reality is emerging as an unlikely tool for solving this intractable problem. You can either read this article or listen to it!
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/26/magazine/virtual-reality-chronic-pain.html?searchResultPosition=6
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