Chronic pain and distorted body image: Implications for multisensory feedback interventions. (October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Senkowski, Daniel; Heinz, Andreas
• Is Part Of: Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews. Volume 69(2016)
• Page Start: 252
• Page End: 259
• Publication Date: 2016-10
• Subjects: Body perception -- Body representation -- Chronic pain syndromes -- Multisensory processing -- Crossmodal -- Virtual reality -- Mirror therapy -- Phantom limb pain -- Feedback approaches; Psychophysiology -- Periodicals; Human behavior -- Periodicals; Animal behavior -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Behavior -- Periodicals; Ethology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Psychophysiologie -- Périodiques; Comportement humain -- Périodiques; Animaux -- Mœurs et comportement -- Périodiques; Neurologie -- Périodiques; Animal behavior; Human behavior; Neurology; Psychophysiology; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 573.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.08.009
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0149-7634

Abstract

Highlights: Many patients with chronic pain show distorted body images. Improvements in body images go along with symptom improvement in chronic pain. Multisensory feedback interventions are promising to treat distorted body images. Virtual reality feedback training can modify links between innocuous input and pain. Virtual reality interventions could improve distorted body images in chronic pain. Abstract: Individuals with chronic pain often show a distorted body image. Various studies demonstrated that improvements in body image go along with symptom improvement in chronic pain. This renders distorted body images a promising target for feedback intervention programs. We propose that interventions that comprise of virtual reality (VR) multisensory feedback training provide a promising new avenue for the treatment of chronic pain. Thus far, VR-based interventions have been primarily applied to distract patients from pain. Recently, first attempts have been made to apply VR-based interventions as active sensory feedback training. VR-based feedback training allows the dynamic modification of virtual limbs that are perceived as one's own. This offers unique opportunities to target long-term associations between sensory input and pain in patients with chronic pain. We predict that multisensory VR feedback interventions could be effective in reducing fear-avoidance behavior and improving distorted body images. We review current developments and provide an outlook on future directions in the promising field of VR feedback interventions for the multisensory treatment of chronic pain.