Virtual reality (VR) delivers various benefits for patients with chronic pain diagnoses as an occupation-based intervention (OBI). The advantages of immersive VR for patients experiencing chronic upper extremity pain will be thoroughly examined and highlighted throughout the capstone project. Immersive VR provides skill transfer that aligns with body functions and structures while the patient relearns the necessary performance components that apply to daily tasks. Personalized and adaptation are key features of immersive VR, wherein patients engage in virtual occupations that are both purposeful and meaningful. This enhances patient engagement, making therapy enjoyable and motivating, and positively alters patients’ perceptions of their disability in relation to daily tasks. In a virtual OBI, visual and perceptual senses are engaged, allowing the patient to observe their extremity or become embodied in the virtual environment, thereby reducing overreactions to pain associated with function in daily tasks. When patients participate in immersive VR and succeed in virtual occupation, self-confidence and views on the ability to participate in daily tasks improve. Immersive VR can be considered an appropriate simulated OBI to address patient deficits in functional tasks, and the benefits will vary for each individual. Due to the limited use of OBI in outpatient occupational therapy settings, it is essential to examine the benefits of immersive VR as this modality can be used to support occupation as an intervention to improve function. Occupational therapists’ use of immersive VR must align with goal setting, quality of life, well-being, and independence of an individual in their daily routines.
