Can VR goggles ease pain for seniors in the ER?
NCT ID NCT06685107
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether adding a short virtual reality experience (5-10 minutes) to standard pain medication can better reduce pain, anxiety, and stress in adults aged 65 and older who come to the emergency room with acute muscle or joint pain. About 180 participants will be randomly assigned to get either standard care alone or standard care plus VR. The goal is to see if VR can improve pain management for older patients in a busy ER setting.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Virtual reality (geriatric-focused VR platform) plus standard pain medication
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a drug-free way to ease pain and anxiety for older adults in the emergency room.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study (180 people) and not blinded, so results may be influenced by expectations. VR may not work for all patients or in busy ER settings.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 180 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2024
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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65 to 120 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * age of 65+ * Emergency Medicine patients * non traumatic musculoskeletal painful condition * pain score of 4+ on the numeric rating scale * patient will warrant parenteral analgesia per treating physician * patient will have to be awake, alert, and oriented to person, place, and time. * comprehension of informed consent process and study related content * ability to complete assessments Exclusion Criteria: * painful syndrome requiring emergent and/or urgent pain control * altered mental status * unstable vital signs * history of recent epilepsy * seizure disorder * vertigo * active headache * nausea * motion sickness * dizziness
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Maimonides Medical Center
RECRUITINGBrooklyn, New York, 11219, United States