Speaker
Speaker Info
- Name
- Rob Smeets
- Organization
- Clinics in Revalidation (CIR) and Maastricht University
- Country
- The Netherlands
- Biography
- Rob J.E.M. Smeets is a physiatrist since 1995 and received his PhD in 2006. He worked as a research fellow at the George Institute of Global Health, affiliated with the University of Sydney, in Sydney, Australia (2008-2009). In June 2009 he was appointed full professor in Rehabilitation Medicine (0.4 fte and since 2025 0.2 fte) and is working as physiatrist at CIR Clinics in Revalidatie (0.6) at Eindhoven. He specialized in the physical as well as cognitive behavioral treatments of chronic musculoskeletal pain and chronic fatigue patients and is responsible for the development, research and implementation of new diagnostic tools and treatments for these patients. He has successfully transferred the clinical department of Rehabilitation Medicine into an innovative academic working place and developed new diagnostic and treatment care pathways between primary and secondary care, especially in the field of musculoskeletal disorders. He has been involved in several (inter)national guideline committees, (past) chair of the International Association of the Study of Pain (IASP) special interest group op Pain & Movement, chair of scientific working group of the Dutch Association of Rehabilitation Medicine (2011-2014). He was chair of the workgroup Development of the Dutch Guideline Chronic Pain Rehabilitation (2024). He is internationally recognized in the area of musculoskeletal pain research as well as rehabilitation medicine. He has served >75 times as keynote, and co(authored) >265 international peer reviewed articles. https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/en/persons/rob-smeets. He just recently published a series of 8 podcasts (‘Pijncast’ in Dutch) about chronic pain and the role of psychosocial factors.
- www.linkedin.com/in/smeetsrob
Photo
- Photo
Presentation Info
- Title
- The Use of Virtual Reality in Interdisciplinary Multimodal Pain Treatment: Experiences of Healthcare Professionals and Patient
- Summary
- Background: Chronic pain is a widespread health problem. Interdisciplinary multimodal pain treatment (IMPT) is a treatment option for people with chronic pain. Virtual reality (VR) could be used to broaden IMPT programs. However, despite the advantages of VR, it is rarely used in daily clinical practice. Objective: To explore how, when, and with whom VR can be used meaningfully during IMPT, either as an addition or substitution of IMPT. Methods: Action research design to help health care professionals and patients learn how, when, and with whom they can use VR. Data were collected through reflection sessions with health care professionals and semistructured interviews with patients in. Two researchers performed direct content analyses. Results: In total, 4 physiotherapists, 1 occupational therapist, 3 psychologists, and 22 patients participated in this research. Three iteration cycles, including 9 reflection sessions and 8 semistructured interviews, were performed. Both health care professionals and patients considered VR to be useful in therapy as an addition but not a substitution. VR was used as a diagnostic and intervention tool with all patients at the rehabilitation center or home. VR was used to gain insight into patients’ pain beliefs, cognitions, and irrational cognitions about additional damage and physical abilities. Considering VR as an intervention tool, the health care professionals had 3 goals: balancing relaxation and competition, grading activities, and exposure in vivo. Conclusions: VR could be a valuable addition to IMPT. More research should be performed to assess the additional effects of VR on patients’ participation in daily life.
- Keynote
- Presentation
- GFHEU Year
- 2026
Info
- Info