Overcoming Acute Pain Through Virtual Reality
Novel Approaches to Overcoming Acute Pain
Walking down the street, strolling in the mall or driving in my car, I am still amazed at the concentration that both children and adults give to their iPhones. People become totally immersed in the presence of their electronic devices, be it laptops on the train, iPads at home or of course the iPhone.
Could this obsessively deep concentration with electronic media, be used in a positive way to diminish and alleviate acute pain in patients?
If you have ever experienced a virtual reality device as I have, there is no other place that you are except in the realm of that device. The way it is made, makes it “virtually” impossible to focus on anyone or anything else at the same time.
I have experienced several professional virtual reality exhibits, two in Israel. The two Israeli exhibits show the Jewish Temple and the work done by the high Priests in glowing detail. I felt as if I was hovering above the ground and in a new reality.
What if manufacturers could develop virtual reality games that were stimulating enough that patients suffering from chronic pain could forget their pain without the use of powerful painkillers? This maybe a type technology for seniors that can finally address their pain in a unique way.
Yes, it’s true, hospitals have been using this new pain management technique for several years already with successful results. There are several types of virtual reality programs, some are games and some teach relaxation techniques.
For example, patients who have used virtual reality (VR), learn breathing techniques that relax both their bodies and their minds. One of the most common reasons for extended hospital stay is unmanaged pain.
Holly Davis, age 41, was in a accident that caused constant pain on one side of her body. Holly was placed in a dark room by her physical therapist and outfitted with virtual reality goggles. The program her physical therapist used, showed three-dimensional images of the working of the nerves in the body. It explained to her what was going on in her body. Doctors do not have enough time to explain to their patients about how the nerves of the body react to pain. One of the virtues of virtual reality is that it educates the patient in a graphic way about the pain they are experiencing. There are many different types of virtual reality programs, some showing mountain or beach images as well as actual games. Studies by the Journal of Medical Internet Research, showed a marked difference in patients watching virtual reality to those watching a two dimensional video. In another study, thirty patients were shown a five minute virtual reality experience with their chronic pain reduced immediately by thirty-three percent. This works because the brain is so busy processing signals from the virtual reality, that it has a difficult time processing the pain signals.
David R. Patterson is a professor of psychology in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He has learned that virtual reality can control pain from dental procedures as well as burn pain and childbirth.
A registered nurse at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, Courtney Elliot has been using virtual reality for over two years in her duty in the emergency room. A child came in with excruciating pain from a broken arm due to a fall off the monkey bars at school. Nurse Courtney showed him a program of dolphins swimming underwater. The doctor was able to splint the boy’s broken arm very quickly due to the boy’s complete focus on the virtual reality. Nurse Courney’s emergency room has used virtual reality to help patients between the ages of three and ninety-six. They have proved that this pain control method decreases hospital stays significantly.
Pebbles the Penguin Virtual reality is being used at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Stanford, Connecticut, to treat childhood anxiety especially pre-surgery. They developed a game called,” Pebbles the Penguin”, in which a penguin moves in different ways in different venues to collect pebbles. The hands free control makes the game simple to play. Happy surprises with positive reinforcement makes for a fun filled game.
“Snow World” is a game that immerses patients in an icy polar world where they are able to hit penguins and snowmen with snowballs. The combination of the cooling atmosphere as opposed to the patients burns distracts them from their pain.
Ten year old, Blaine Baxter, injured his arm while go karting. He was so distraught at the painful daily bandage changing at the hospital that he had to be sedated. Blaine was fitted with Samsung Gear virtual reality goggles. He went from being terrified anytime a doctor or nurse came into his room to happily embarking on zapping burgers in outer space in a game called Spaceburgers.
At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, a patient is rolled in appearing to be choking on a piece of food. Dr. Brennan Spiegel is a gastroenterologist specializing in removing food from patients throats. Something about this patient’s symptoms was off and so instead of bringing the patient to the operating room, Dr. Spiegel reached for a pair of virtual reality goggles and placed them over his patient’s eyes and inserted a beach scene of Hawaii. Within a few seconds the patient stopped struggling. This patient was not choking, he was in the midst of a severe panic attack. Dr Spiegel is now at the forefront of virtual reality treatment for pain. He realized that too often the only solution for chronic pain is addictive opioids. Over the past few years he has conducted studies with virtual reality reducing all types of pain by twenty-five percent.
Anxiety and pain are so closely connected. Virtual reality techniques work by taking away the patient’s focus from the pain to virtual reality. However, many times the pain has a psychological basis. Why not eliminate the pain completely without requiring the person to be in the virtual reality dimension to find relief?
Dr John Sarno, Founder of the Sarno Method
Dr. John Sarno, stood just five foot three inches tall, but he was a giant in the mind-body connection of pain management, especially but not limited to back pain. Dr. Sarno had an opposing belief to taking the mind off the pain. His theory is that pain is the mind’s way of distracting a person from reality. By focusing on a specific pain the mind does not have to deal with life’s difficulties. Thousands of people have benefited from his technique with many avoiding serious surgeries.
The first part of his technique is for the person to list ten problems that are bothering him each day. The patient then instructs his subconscious not to bother to divert his mind from these problems because he will think about them regardless. Once the subconscious realizes that the person is dealing realistically with the life issues of each day, the pain or anxiety recedes. I personally know of several people who have used this technique successfully ( of course, first doctors must rule out serious life threatening illnesses).
Dr. Sarno was a specialist in rehabilitation medicine for over 50 years at New York University. His name for the various forms of chronic pain collectively, is, tension myositis syndrome. The body has mild oxygen deprivation caused by reduced blood flow to muscles and nerves throughout the body caused by tension. Dr. Sarno, himself claimed to have gotten rid of his own allergies by regarding the allergies as T.M.S. (tension myositis). In simpler terms, emotional pain often manifests itself in physical symptoms. Chronic pain is curable using methods that calm down the nervous system. This will stimulate the emergence of alternative neurological pathways. Dr. Sarno encouraged his patients by learning about the psychosomatic connection to pain by journaling as mentioned previously. Today we know this as The Sarno Method.
I personally know of a close relative of mine who had,back surgery and traction therapy with little relief until he was treated by Dr. Sarno. Due to this man’s back pain cure, he in turn visited his young friend in the hospital who was suffering from acute back pain. His friend was glued to his hospital bed and could not even rise to use the bathroom. Using the Sarno method that he learned, the older man convinced the younger man to leave his bed for the first time in weeks. A close friend of mine was all set for back surgery when she decided to visit a disciple of Dr. Sarno. She did not require the surgery. Once in a while her back will bother her but now she knows exactly what to do to alleviate her symptoms promptly.
For some pain patients, like Holly Davis, acquiring meditation and breathing skills can help manage symptoms. Larry Benz, a physical therapist from Louisville, Kentucky believes that movement promotes healing. He claims that chronic patients cannot be allowed to rest. We must get them moving. The joints become lubricated by physical activity to keep them working.
In order to heal, the body must move. The lungs and heart function improves with physical activity. So maybe the two methods that we have learned about, virtual reality and the mind – body connection of Dr. John Sarno are not so diametrically opposed. Check with your doctor before attempting any of these formulas.
