Photo Credit: Esperanza33

The following is a summary of “Effects of Virtual Reality on Pain during Intrauterine Device Insertions: A Randomized Controlled Trials,” published in the January 2024 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology by Benazzouz et al.

For a study, researchers sought to find out how much pain women felt when an intrauterine device (IUD) was put in, with and without virtual reality (VR) treatment. Also, stress levels during the insertions, pain levels after the insertions, and happiness with the insertions were all compared.

It was planned to be a prospective, two-center, randomized, open-label clinical study. Adult women who chose an IUD during a meeting about birth control and gave their full consent were qualified. Women who were legal guardians, not enrolled in a national social security system, or who already had epilepsy, dizziness, or serious face cuts were not qualified. Eligible women were randomly put into one of two groups: the Control group got standard care without VR therapy, and the Experimental group got standard care with VR therapy. A 10-cm number scale was used to measure pain, worry, and happiness.

Between September 2020 and April 2022, 100 women were put into two groups, with 50 in each. The Control group felt pain for an average of 5.4 cm, while the Experimental group felt pain for an average of 5.1 cm (P = 0.54). It took 4.8 cm longer for people in the Control group to feel anxious during injection than those in the Experimental group (P = 0.13). They both felt 2.4 cm of pain after the insertions, but not significantly different from each other (P = 0.98). Most people in both groups were happy with the insertions by 9.6 cm (P = 0.87). Anxiety before IUD placement and the expectation of pain were strongly linked to the pain felt during insertions. Women getting IUDs did not feel less pain when they used VR treatment during the process.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2468784723001733