Virtual Reality Pain Control Orthopedic Trauma

The treatment of postoperative pain after severe trauma is poorly understood, and it can lead
to chronic pain, opiate drug addiction and elevated health care costs. The proposed project
will be a randomized controlled trial to evaluate an innovative methodology for delivering
clinical hypnosis (virtual reality hypnosis) for pain control as well as a more time-honored
delivery system that uses audio recordings. The goal will be to reduce postoperative pain in
a sample of patients hospitalized for the care of severe orthopedic trauma and other types
trauma. This proposal will test innovative and low-risk approaches to reducing postoperative
trauma pain that are designed to reduce pain, anxiety and other complications after surgery.
The findings have the potential not only to reduce pain and suffering in patients who have
suffered severe trauma but could be applicable to the millions of people who have surgery
every year. Reducing addictive opiate-based medication and health care costs are both
potential outcomes from this project.