Virtual Reality in treatment and rehabilitation

Virtual reality (VR) is useful for medical treatment related to a wide range of anxieties. VR exposure therapies put the patient in an anxiety-causing situation, e.g., in a plane or on top of a roof, and enable to develop coping strategies along with the therapist. The use of VR to treat acute and chronic pain is based on the strong distracting character of a VR experience. Finally, VR has considerable potential for supporting the rehabilitation of patients after brain injuries. Rehabilitation involves motor rehabilitation, where patients re-learn to use their hands and feet appropriately, as well as cognitive rehabilitation, where patients train daily activities, such as shopping, preparing a meal or street crossing under realistic conditions. In all these scenarios, the use of VR needs to be carefully embedded in a treatment strategy, where it is combined with other treatment methods, such as the use of drugs for coping with pain.