Work Type
Poster
Abstract
The Doctoral Capstone Experience is a 14 week project which is directed by the student and site of choice. The purpose of the project is for students to expand upon their knowledge of occupational therapy and demonstrate an in-depth understanding of a chosen focus area. My personal capstone experience and project focused on utilizing virtual reality (VR) to manage chronic pain syndromes. My capstone experience was completed between two sites, the first 4 weeks were completed at Twin Cities Pain Clinics (TCPC) in Edina and Chaska, Minnesota, and the final 10 weeks were completed at the Veterans Affairs Central Iowa Health Care System (VACIHS) where I developed an advanced understanding of pain, and implemented virtual reality therapy (VRT) with Veterans.
An evidence based approach was completed to understand the current use of VRT for pain management through completion of literature review and needs assessment. The literature review identified that there is a high-level of evidence to support utilization of VR therapy for chronic pain management within occupational therapy practice. The systematic reviews utilized in this literature review found at least some positive effect for virtual reality in treatment of chronic pain (Brea-Gómez et al., 2021; Goudman et al., 2022; Grassini, 2022; Huang et al., 2022; Huang & Chen, 2025; Li et al., 2024; Lo et al., 2024; Maheta et al., 2025). The needs assessment identified a gap that exists between understanding VRT is beneficial and the implementation of VRT in practice. Due to this gap, there is a need to create and develop individualized VR interventions and plans of care utilizing immersive technologies. The doctoral capstone that was proposed successfully addressed this need through implementing individualized virtual reality treatments and developing the Virtual Reality Pain Guide (VRPG) to allow therapists to integrate virtual reality therapy into plans of care successfully.
Publication Date
5-17-2026
Citation Information
Lewis, Jonah, "Utilizing Virtual Reality for Chronic Pain Management" (2026). Student Works Occupational Therapy Capstones. 22.
https://digitalcommons.dmu.edu/stu_ot/22
