Why Video Games May Be The Pain Killers Of The Future – Junkee

“There’s nothing we can do; you’ll just have to manage it for now.” These words, coming from a doctor, are all too familiar for people with any chronic pain — and especially so for women. For some, including myself, it is video games that have helped them manage.

This isn’t a new or untested idea, and the key is distraction. Back in 2011, a New Zealand study looked at how well people could be distracted from the pain using a variety of techniques. Turns out video games (an active distraction) was far more successful than passive distractions — like television or no distraction at all. Patients were also more eager to try the same experiment again and had less anxiety if they knew an active distraction would be involved.

Read the full article here.