VirtualPain. Preliminary findings from a group-based digital therapeutics intervention for fibromyalgia
Introduction: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a disorder characterized by chronic pain, with significant medical, psychological, and socio-economic implications. Although there is limited evidence, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has shown to be effective in improving FM symptoms. An alternative to enhance...
| Autores: | , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2024 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/227859 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2445/227859 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Realitat virtual en la medicina Fibromiàlgia Teràpia cognitiva Teràpia de la conducta Tractament del dolor Virtual reality in medicine Fibromyalgia Cognitive therapy Behavior therapy Pain treatment |
| Sumario: | Introduction: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a disorder characterized by chronic pain, with significant medical, psychological, and socio-economic implications. Although there is limited evidence, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has shown to be effective in improving FM symptoms. An alternative to enhance CBT effectiveness is to incorporate digital therapeutics (DTx). Aim: We conducted a pilot study to investigate whether the addition of a DTx intervention (VirtualPain)to cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) can reduce pain perception and associated symptoms in patients with FM. Method: Ten patients with FM were initially recruited from a public hospital in Barcelona. The treatment consisted of 6 weeks of VirtualPain group sessions and 16 weeks of CBGT. Measures of catastrophizing, self-efficacy, and coping were recorded before, during, and after the protocol. In the DTx sessions, pain intensity was recorded before and after each session. Results: The program (DTx and CBGT) showed asignificant improvement in pain-related self-efficacy and relaxation measures. Improvement in pain perception was observed only after the DTx intervention. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary results regarding the addedvalue ofDTx(VirtualPain) as part of a CBGTfor FM. The use of the program has facilitated a significant reduction in pain perception in each of the VirtualPain sessions, which provides further evidence of how this technology can be beneficial for improving FM treatments. |
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