VR glasses instead of pills - is this the future of pain therapy?

Siri Schubert

5-8-2025

Translation: machine translated

Pain relief without pills, but with a virtual nature experience - does it work? Researchers at the University of Exeter in the UK have now answered this question in the affirmative. They showed that a 3D nature experience with VR glasses works almost as well against chronic pain as tablets.

Immersing yourself in deep green forests with rushing waterfalls on the sofa with VR glasses: this could be the future of pain therapy. Researchers at the University of Exeter have shown in a small study that a virtual experience of nature works almost as well as tablets for chronic pain.

Immersion in the experience of nature brings relief

In 29 test subjects, electric shocks were applied to the forearm to create a certain type of pain sensitivity similar to chronic nerve pain. Then the VR headset came into play: After a 45-minute virtual reality session with 3D forests and waterfalls in front of their eyes, the participants felt significantly better.

The deeper they immersed themselves in the 3D nature experience, the less discomfort they reported after the sessions. The positive effects were still noticeable 5 minutes after removing the glasses, which speaks against a pure distraction effect.

More than that: the researchers were able to use brain scans to show that the virtual 360-degree nature experience activates pain-regulating nerve pathways and thus contributes to pain relief. The improvements with the VR glasses were significantly greater than those achieved with a 2D nature video.

Nature on prescription

Early research has shown that a walk in nature can improve the well-being of people with pain and psychological conditions. In the United Kingdom, so-called «Green Prescriptions», i.e. nature on prescription, have therefore been available for several years. More than 8,000 people have taken part in outdoor pilot projects since 2020 and improved their well-being as a result, writes the British newspaper The Guardian.

Dr Sam Hughes, lecturer in neuroscience at the University of Exeter, led the current study on pain management with virtual reality. In a media release, he emphasised that there are still few scientific results on the question of whether nature experiences also help with longer-lasting pain. This is why he and his team had focussed on chronic pain. The VR glasses make immersion in nature accessible to more people. «After all, not everyone can go for a walk, especially people with long-term health problems such as chronic pain», he adds.

Dr Sonia Medina, who also worked on the study, hopes that this and other scientific work will one day lead to nature experiences being used to relieve pain for people in care homes or hospitals.

Siri Schubert

Senior Editor

Siri.Schubert@digitecgalaxus.ch

Research diver, outdoor guide and SUP instructor – I love being in, on and around water. Lakes, rivers and the ocean are my playgrounds. For a change of perspective, I look at the world from above while trail running or flying drones.

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