Exploring the 'Pain-Dial' - A Virtual Reality Pain Reduction Technique

“疼痛拨号器”是一种心理干预，旨在通过暴露、分散注意力和降低疼痛预期来“拨号器”慢性疼痛（CP）的痛苦体验。由于CP被认为是一种流行病，因此缺乏能够在疼痛的情况下促进积极功能的干预措施是积极生活质量的障碍。允许远程访问的数字技术可能有助于克服这一点，并对个人产生更大的影响。“痛觉拨号盘”的概念在催眠疗法中得到了应用，但其作用背后的确切机制仍然难以捉摸。本提案有三个目的：(1)了解“疼痛刻度盘”减轻疼痛的机制，并讨论虚拟现实（VR）是否能增强其功效。(2)通过实验诱导疼痛，在健康样本中测试“疼痛拨号”机制，包括四种传递方式：想象、虚拟现实、基于屏幕、模拟和控制。(3)了解在纤维肌痛患者中进行随机对照试验检查“疼痛拨号器”的疗效是否可行，并探讨该技术的接受程度。该方法的目的是纳入现有的CP治疗，得到NHS疼痛诊所的认可，并作为进一步验证和干预的基础，同时支持VR治疗CP的未来发展。

The 'pain-dial' is a psychological intervention that aims to 'dial-down' the harrowing experience of chronic pain (CP)through exposure, distraction, and lowering pain expectancy. Since CP is considered epidemic, a lack of access tointerventions that promote positive function despite pain is a barrier to positive quality of life. Digital technologieswhich allow remote access may help to overcome this and make greater impact to the individual. The concept of a'pain-dial' is utilised within hypnotherapy, but the exact mechanism underlying its effect remains elusive. Thisproposal has three aims: (1) To understand the mechanisms of the 'pain-dial' to reduce pain and discuss whethervirtual reality (VR) enhances its efficacy. (2) To test the 'pain-dial' mechanisms within a healthy sample byexperimentally inducing pain, across four means of delivery, imagination, VR, screen-based, analogue, plus acontrol. (3) To understand if a randomised controlled trial examining the efficacy of the 'pain-dial' is feasible amongfibromyalgia patients and explore the acceptance of the technology. It is the intention for this method to beincorporated into existing CP treatments, endorsed by NHS pain clinics, and be the basis for further validation asan intervention in its own right, whilst supporting future developments in VR to treat CP.