Virtual reality in healthcare: therapeutic applications and clinical outcomes in 2026

Sensory distraction is the central mechanism: by engaging the brain's attentional resources, the virtual environment competes with pain and anxiety signals. This principle opens up practical possibilities in several clinical settings.

Reducing acute pain during care: outcomes in patients with severe burns

During care for patients with severe burns, which is among the most painful in medicine, immersion in a virtual environment produces measurable outcomes. Measurements of brain activity confirm a significant reduction in perceived pain[1] in areas associated with pain perception, with a reduction rate reaching 60 %. The mechanism is counterintuitive: the brain can only process a limited amount of information simultaneously. Immersed in a virtual world, it devotes fewer resources to pain signals. This is applied neurology, not magic.

Some solutions allow the practitioner to retain full control over gradual exposure during the session through real-time visual feedback, ensuring immediate adaptation to the patient's reactions.

Treating chronic pain and phantom limb pain

Phantom limb pain affects 60 to 80 % of amputees, according to a study by Université Aix-Marseille. This pain, felt in an absent limb, can become highly disabling in everyday life. Virtual reality in medicine offers a distinctive approach here: mirror therapy transferred to a virtual environment. By visualising a functional virtual limb, the patient gradually changes their body representation, reducing the intensity of phantom limb pain. The outcomes obtained demonstrate real efficacy for this chronic pain, which is particularly resistant to conventional treatments.

Managing anxiety before surgery and during medical examinations

Before surgery or an MRI scan, patient anxiety often complicates care. Immersion in a calming environment, a beach, a forest or a meadow, reduces this anxiety without medication. The benefit is twofold: no side effects, and an experience that the patient partially controls. For children undergoing dental care or medical imaging, this tool turns an anxiety-provoking moment into a tolerable experience. Care teams report better cooperation from young patients and fewer examinations postponed because of fear.

Good to know: Brain imaging confirms that virtual reality reduces activity in brain areas associated with pain perception. This is not a placebo effect: it is a measurable change in the neurological processing of pain signals.

Cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT) provide the scientific framework for these approaches. The principle of gradual habituation, exposing the patient to what triggers their anxiety in a controlled environment, finds a particularly effective medium in virtual reality.

Treating specific phobias: flying, heights, enclosed spaces

Flying, entering a lift, being at a height: these situations are impossible to reproduce on demand in a conventional consulting room. Virtual reality makes them accessible at any time, without travel, without risk. For fear of flying, the patient virtually experiences every stage of the flight, from security screening to take-off, including turbulence. The therapist controls the intensity of each stage according to the reactions observed.

C2Care offers a platform bringing together more than 250 different exposure situations, covering specific phobias, social anxiety, public speaking and transport. From a single interface, the practitioner adjusts parameters in real time according to the patient's reactions, making each session truly individualised.

Agoraphobia and social anxiety

Simulating a dense crowd, a public square or a shopping centre: this is what virtual reality makes possible for patients with agoraphobia or social anxiety. These patients usually avoid such situations, which reinforces their disorder over time. The virtual environment allows a controlled increase in intensity, starting with a sparsely populated space before gradually increasing crowd density. The therapist remains present and can interrupt or adjust the exposure at any time. This approach faithfully reproduces the standard CBT protocol, with a flexibility that real life does not allow.

Post-traumatic stress disorders

For former military personnel or victims of attacks, mentally reliving a traumatic event without a safe framework can worsen symptoms. Virtual reality in medicine offers a structured protocol: the patient is gradually exposed to elements that evoke the trauma, with the therapist accompanying them throughout. Desensitisation develops session by session, in an environment fully controlled by the healthcare professional. Specific programmes have been developed for post-traumatic stress disorders in military personnel, with encouraging outcomes in reducing intrusive symptoms.

In France, 140,000 people experience a stroke each year[2], alongside 150,000 traumatic brain injuries and 25,000 new cases of Parkinson's disease. Behind these figures are patients who must relearn how to move. Brain plasticity, the brain's capacity to reorganise after an injury, is better supported when rehabilitation starts early and proceeds in an appropriate, gradual manner.

Post-stroke rehabilitation: upper and lower limbs

Grasping an object, opening a door, crossing a virtual street, climbing simulated stairs: these engaging motor exercises reproduce the everyday movements that patients must relearn after a stroke. Since 2022, the Haute Autorité de Santé has recommended virtual reality as an adjunct to conventional therapy to improve motor function after a stroke, with a moderate level of evidence.

The motivational advantage is decisive. Conventional rehabilitation exercises are often repetitive and perceived as discouraging. When transformed into playful interactions with clear goals, they sustain patient engagement over time. Progress is measurable and visible, which strengthens adherence to the protocol.

Parkinson's disease and neurological disorders

Virtual reality improves balance, walking and coordination in patients with Parkinson's disease. Immersive protocols also target certain cognitive functions that are often affected by the disease. An additional benefit deserves attention: a reduction in depressive symptoms, which are common in these patients. Exercising in a stimulating and rewarding environment changes the subjective experience of rehabilitation, beyond motor gains alone.

Cerebral palsy in children: postoperative rehabilitation

Keeping a child motivated throughout five months of postoperative rehabilitation is a daily challenge for care teams. Work conducted at the Université d'Évry has led to the development of an adaptable, game-based system: the child wears a headset and sees objects appear that they collect by moving around. The programme adapts to the level of disability, age and progress made, with objects becoming progressively harder to reach.

This approach illustrates a fundamental principle of virtual reality rehabilitation: eliciting purposeful actions, directed towards a concrete goal, rather than repetitive movements without context. The result is better transfer of benefits to everyday activities, something conventional methods struggle to achieve to the same degree.

Good to know: Skills acquired transfer better to real life with virtual reality because it elicits goal-directed actions, such as catching an object or avoiding an obstacle, rather than isolated movements without context. This principle, validated by neuroscience research, explains a significant part of its effectiveness.

Virtual reality in medicine is not limited to patients. Healthcare professionals also benefit from it in three distinct areas: initial training, preparation for complex procedures and visualisation of anatomical data.

Simulation of medical procedures for training

Medical students can now practise complex technical procedures without exposing a real patient to any risk. Simulation in a virtual environment allows a needle procedure, intubation or suturing to be repeated as many times as necessary, under varying, controlled conditions. The range of clinical cases available exceeds what a conventional hospital placement can offer. Technical skills develop more quickly, and mistakes made in simulation have no consequences for the patient.

Anatomical visualisation and surgical preparation

Before complex neurosurgery, the surgeon can explore a three-dimensional digital reconstruction of the patient's anatomical structures, generated from medical imaging data. This immersive visualisation transforms surgical planning: the spatial relationships between organs, blood vessels and tumours become tangible. The surgeon can anticipate difficulties, choose the optimal angle of approach and reduce the duration of the actual procedure. Tools such as Surgical Theater have made this approach operational in several neurosurgical centres.

Virtual reality in healthcare is no longer a matter of scientific curiosity. Evidence is accumulating, health authorities are taking positions, and protocols are becoming standardised in areas such as claustrophobia.

In 2022, the Haute Autorité de Santé issued an explicit recommendation: virtual reality is indicated as an adjunct to conventional therapy to improve motor function after a stroke. The level of evidence is rated as moderate, which corresponds to an advanced stage of validation for an emerging medical technology.

For pain, measurements of brain activity provide objective data. Reduced activity in pain perception areas during virtual immersion is not a subjective patient report: it is a signal measurable through functional imaging. In patients with severe burns, this mechanism produces a reduction in perceived pain of up to 60%[1].

For phobias and anxiety disorders, virtual reality exposure therapies fit within the established framework of CBT, whose effectiveness has been documented for several decades. VR adds a dimension of control and reproducibility that in vivo exposure cannot always guarantee.

Some French solutions participate in hospital–university research projects and develop their protocols based on the scientific literature. C2Care, with 10 years of expertise and deployment in 25 countries, illustrates this dynamic in which clinical practice and research advance together. This grounding in research is a condition of credibility for practitioners who incorporate these tools into their practice.

The adoption of therapeutic virtual reality in French hospitals has crossed a threshold. It is no longer limited to pioneering departments.

Equipped institutions include Pitié-Salpêtrière, Cochin hospital, Conception à Marseille hospital, and the CHU de Lyon, de Bordeaux et de la Réunion. Around thirty university hospitals are now equipped across the country. Departments using the technology span rehabilitation, psychiatry and operating theatres, demonstrating the tool's versatility.

C2Care supports 350 equipped institutions and 700 trained practitioners, with active deployment in 25 countries. This support includes training for healthcare teams and ongoing assistance, two key factors for successful adoption in hospital environments with limited resources.

For practitioners in private practice, flexible subscription models provide access to the technology without a substantial initial investment: 99 euros per month with no commitment or 799 euros per year. Compatible consumer headsets (Meta Quest, Pico) are sufficient to control sessions from a web browser, significantly lowering the barrier to entry.

Equipment costs remain a real barrier for some institutions. Medical devices certified for hospital use require a higher investment than consumer headsets, with software subscriptions, staff training and maintenance adding to the cost. Flexible business models are emerging to address this constraint.

Cybersickness, involving nausea and dizziness related to latency or graphics quality, affects some users. Its incidence is decreasing with newer generations of headsets that perform better on these parameters. The main contraindication remains photosensitive epilepsy. These adverse effects are generally mild and temporary, but must be anticipated in the care protocol.

Acceptance by healthcare professionals is a separate challenge. Some therapists initially express reservations about integrating technology into their practice. There is a learning curve, and specific training is necessary to make full use of the tool's capabilities. Practitioners who complete this step generally report a positive transformation in their therapeutic relationship with the patient.