Jeffrey I. Gold, PhD
Jeffrey I. Gold, PhD, associate professor of anesthesiology and pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, director, pediatric pain management clinic, Childrens Hospital, both in Los Angeles.
Fire up the television — video games not only can take your mind off pain, they may also help relievethe pain! So effectively, in fact, that at a recent meeting of the American Pain Society, several experts said that some video games — those that use virtual reality — could be the next important development in pain management.
Truth be told, as a mom I’ve been more of the mindset that video games are themselves a pain… but I am open to a different point of view. Intrigued by the report I read on this promising new approach to pain management, I called the moderator of the meeting, Jeffrey I. Gold, PhD, director of the pediatric pain management clinic at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and associate professor at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, to see whether this is for real. It is — and its potential is awesome!
Dr. Gold told me that several small studies have already shown that video games that use virtual reality (VR) create activity in the brain’s frontal lobe that may inhibit pain stimuli, creating an opiate-like response in the region of the brain, thus releasing endorphins — the “feel good” chemicals.
In one study, healthy subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) testing while playing a VR game and simultaneously receiving intermittent mildly painful bursts of heat — similar to how it feels to touch a car that’s been out in the sun — to the hand. At the conclusion of the study, subjects reported their subjective experience of the pain (scale of 1-10) during VR and with no VR, which researchers compared to the fMRI results. Dr. Gold said that the results are preliminary and more research is needed, but that it appears that playing the games induces the type of brain activity associated with pain inhibition.
The obvious question is, “Can I just start playing video games now to try to minimize my pain?” Yes, but…
The research used VR games, in which imaginary worlds are simulated with computerized goggles, headphones and other equipment that isolates the user from the real world. For this study, researchers used a virtual environment (VE) called Street Luge (from a company called 5DT). The game simulates a downhill race with players lying on their backs on skateboards, requiring constant split-second maneuvering. It is not available for purchase, but who knows — it’s likely that someone will sniff opportunity in this area! In the meantime, Dr. Gold suggests that anything that provides distraction could be helpful.
Which games work best on children, and which ones on adults? Are some games more effective for males and others for females? What characteristics might make these games even more effective? Can any “off the street” game work, or will pain-management games be specially designed and developed? These are some of the questions that future studies will be designed to answer. Dr. Gold said that in only a few years, pain-reducing VE may be standard equipment in hospitals and even in the homes of people with chronic pain. The hope is that someday, perhaps, this may present a safer alternative to narcotics for pain relief. I can think of only one thing to say about this — way cool!