In the study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Pain Society, people ages 60 and older were immersed in a virtual reality program called SnowWorld, in which they moved through an icy canyon with snowmen, igloos, penguins, mammoths and fish. Meanwhile, a low-immersion group viewed the same program with a display that did not block outside noises and sights and reduced image resolution.
Subjects received the simulated pain of a lumbar puncture when they were immersed in either program and when they were not. The immersed group showed a significant reduction in sensory, emotional and cognitive pain. The subjective analgesia effect was significantly greater in the high-immersion group.
Read the Reuters report on pain management.
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