Playing Video Games Can Reduce Pain

Medical Video: Can a video game end pain?

Play video games is an activity that can divert our attention from the surrounding environment and sometimes even forget about time. But did you know that playing these activities can also reduce pain? This is based on research in recent years that explains that a person will have a better tolerance for pain when playing video games.

Where does the pain come from?

Basically, pain or pain is an uncomfortable sensation that is the result of the brain's response to stimuli received by nerves on the outside and inside the body. The stimulus can be caused by pressure or tissue damage (injury) that is experienced by certain organs. After the stimulus through the nervous system reaches the brain, the cerebral part of the cortex will accept and interpret it as pain in parts of the body that experience pressure or injury. Pain can also last long (chronic) or briefly, and the intensity depends on the body part and the severity of the pressure or injury experienced.

How to video games reduce pain

Video games has a virtual reality in the form of images or videos that can intervene in the workings of the brain in response to pain stimuli in the body. Play video games also tends to make us much calmer when holding back pain and make blood flow flow better so we tend to feel lower pain intensity. Indirectly, this changes how the brain responds to pain.

One expert in this field, Jeffrey I. Gold, Ph.D. how the brain responds to pain. "When playing video games possibly some parts of the brain respond to these stimuli with more of them in front of the brain (anterior cingulate cortex) and the hypothalamus. Both parts of the brain act as regulators of attention, distraction and emotion, thus allowing a decrease in the sense of anxiety of the sufferer when holding back pain.

Similar things have also been tested in research using pain caused by cold temperatures (2^oC). The result is individuals who play video games has a much higher pain tolerance compared to individuals who don't get the chance to play video games when holding back pain. Research also shows that distractions can be passive like just watching TV but not as good as when playing video games.

Are all video games if played can reduce pain?

As technology develops, video games comes in various forms and becomes more sophisticated, but it is not necessarily able to relieve pain. An expert in chronic pain, Dr. Dahlquist argues for effects video games greatly influenced by the interaction of individuals with virtual reality presented. He also added that a person's age will influence how he enjoys the game being played.

Compared to sophistication, a factor in one's interest in playing a game video games will determine the effect pain killer to the pain. This is like what happens to a finger muscle injury in a 29-year-old man but does not provide pain because he is addicted to playing Candy Crush on smartphone he had all day in a few months. He just felt a very strong pain when he stopped playing and could not move his thumb and was diagnosed with a tear in the finger tendon by a doctor. The tendon itself is a very thick type of muscle that usually causes very strong pain if damaged.

However, there are many things that affect the effects of play video games in reducing pain, especially to what extent video games it can affect the performance of the brain in response to the stimulus. Pain reduction method by playing video games still very new and requires further research. This is a good opportunity as an alternative to managing chronic pain in addition to the use of drugs.

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