Pain
Conditions
Keywords
Ice bath, Virtual Reality, Stationary Bike
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of different technologies, in particular Virtual Reality, inclusive of passive content, active content, cognitive load modulation, and positive encouragement coaching to increase the pain threshold as assessed by immersing a hand in ice water while utilizing a stationary bike.
Interventions
OTHERStationary Bike
Stationary Bike while hand is submerged in ice bath
OTHERVirtual Reality (VR) Headset
VR headset containing gameplay
OTHERIce Bath
Pain was elicited via a cold pressor test, which is an established method of producing controlled and repeatable painful stimuli in an experimental setting
Sponsors
Stanford University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Greater than 18 years of age * English speaking * Hearing intact
Exclusion criteria
* Patients who do not consent * Are currently taking beta blockers or other chronotropic heart medication(s) * Have a history of severe motion sickness * Currently have nausea * Currently experiencing seizures * Are clinically unstable
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Reported Pain Scores (Ice Bath vs VR Bike) | Duration of ice bath (approximately 0 - 4 minutes) | Pain Scores will be collected during ice bath (maximum of 4 minutes) every 30 seconds via numeric rating scale (NRS), 0 being no pain, 10 being worst pain imaginable |
| Sympathetic Activation (VR vs VR Bike) | Duration of ice bath (approximately 0 - 4 minutes) | Assessed via the electrodermal activity (EDA biosensor), which recorded skin conductance response density (SCRD) data in 30 second epochs. SCRD was recorded for the duration of the cold pressor test and one minute before and after submersion. The same primary and secondary outcome measures were collected at identical time points during the different cold pressor challenges on each hand |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pain Tolerance (Ice Bath vs VR Bike) | Duration of ice bath (approximately 0 - 4 minutes) | Defined by time of hand removal from the ice bath in seconds. 4 minute maximum. |
| Sympathetic Activation (Ice Bath vs VR Bike) | Duration of ice bath (approximately 0 - 4 minutes) | Assessed via the electrodermal activity (EDA biosensor), which recorded skin conductance response density (SCRD) data in 30 second epochs. SCRD was recorded for the duration of the cold pressor test and one minute before and after submersion. The same primary and secondary outcome measures were collected at identical time points during the different cold pressor challenges on each hand. |
| Self-Reported Pain Scores (VR vs VR Bike) | Duration of ice bath (approximately 0 - 4 minutes) | Pain Scores will be collected during ice bath (maximum of 4 minutes) every 30 seconds via numeric rating scale (NRS), 0 being no pain, 10 being worst pain imaginable and immediately after participant removed their hand from ice bath. |
| Pain Tolerance (VR vs VR Bike) | Duration of ice bath (approximately 0 - 4 minutes) | Defined by time of hand removal from the ice bath in seconds. 4 minute maximum. The same outcome measure were collected at identical timepoints during both conditions. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed