Pain sufferers find gaming better than drugs
" A researcher at Simon Fraser University in Canada has discovered evidence to show that playing video games is more effective at helping chronic pain sufferers than medication.
Professor Diane Gromala worked with doctors in an attempt to determine how gaming can relieve the pain of patients.
According to the published report, "controlled experiments consistently show subjects who are distracted in a fully-virtual reality world… report less pain than their counterparts using drug-based pain therapy”. "
[Taken from the Digital Spy Web Site today]
I find this enthralling. As a chronic pain sufferer for some years now, I have tried most things suggested.
Recently, I have been suffering from significant stress as well as pain. I have taken to playing an online role-playing game - not a nasty one - just a simple character-based game in which I move around a 3-d world meeting people, doing activities etc.
Some would, no doubt, call it boring. They may be right, but when I need to get some relief from what I am feeling, I find it is just the ticket. An hour clicking away and flying around to different places and I tend to forget the pain to a significant extent. I can settle my mind, and prepare for sleep. As a consequence, I sleep better and feel more refreshed.
I don't know if this is quite what those Canadian researchers are on about, but it would seem so. I have certainly seen the benefits - far beyond the time actually spent playing the game.
Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.
No pain, no game.
Posted by: Jason | December 19, 2007 at 08:02 AM