Pain: taking advantage of the malleability of human perception to deliberately divert mental resources away from the pain.

Attention appears to be the main way that virtual reality reduces pain. Read this article to find out how a team of US scientists has compared differing gear and found that the more realistic and “immersive” the gear, the greater the reduction in pain reported.
Virtual reality can help treat chronic pain, too. The UW researchers also developed a virtual reality program that induces hypnosis. The goal is to use post-hypnotic suggestion to change the way the brain handles chronic pain signals long after therapy sessions.
“Chronic pain is a much bigger challenge than acute pain,”. This group of scientists has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (US) for a controlled clinical trial of virtual reality hypnosis for chronic pain.