VirtualPain . Preliminary findings from a group-based digital therapeutics intervention for fibromyalgia

British Journal of Pain, vol. 18, pp. 155–165

Abstract

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 a significant 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 added value of DTx ( VirtualPain) as part of a CBGT for 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.

Authors 5

1. Ferran Vilalta‐Abella

   Hospital de Sant Joan Despí Moisès Broggi

   Affiliation as printed

   Unit of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Hospital of Sant Joan Despí Moisès Broggi, Sant Joan Despí, Spain

2. Bruno Porras-García

   Universitat Internacional de Catalunya · Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa

   Affiliation as printed

   BrainXR Lab, Department of Basic Sciences, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain

   Research Group on Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa (CST), Terrassa, Spain

3. Alexandra Ghiţă corresponding Aachen Unit of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Unit of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands

4. Montserrat Vacas-Moreira

   Hospital de Sant Joan Despí Moisès Broggi

   Affiliation as printed

   Unit of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Hospital of Sant Joan Despí Moisès Broggi, Sant Joan Despí, Spain

5. José Gutiérrez‐Maldonado

   Universitat de Barcelona

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain