Effect of virtual walk in green or urban spaces on pain perception among healthy adults

Humans are deeply rooted in the natural environment. Contact with a green natural environment can affect pain perception. There are indications that a virtual analog of the natural environment may have a beneficial effect on pain perception. The aim of our study was to assess the potential effects of virtual walking in a green environment (virtual green garden) or a virtual urban environment on pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, pain tolerance, and affective state during the generated pain experience. The study was experimental in nature, in which 81 adults participated: 40 participants were exposed to a virtual reality (VR) walk in a Green Space and 41 participants in an Urban Space environment. Pain perception was measured before and after exposure to a 4-minute VR walk: pain tolerance threshold using TSA-II (pain induced by thermal stimuli), pain intensity and unpleasantness (VAS), and the level of positive and negative emotions during pain (VAS). Pain intensity and pain unpleasantness decreased after virtual walk in a green environment. Pain tolerance thresholds were maintained at a similar level before and after the introduction of the virtual walk in both the green and urban environments. The level of positive emotions increased and the level of negative emotions decreased after the virtual walk in a green environment. No statistically significant changes were observed in pain perception and emotional state in the group exposed to virtual walk in an urban environment. These results indicate that contact with nature, even in the form of VR, can effectively relieve pain not only by reducing its intensity but also by reducing its unpleasantness.