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Games Entertainment Science

Games Take Away the Pain 56

Posted by Zonk from the soothing-mario-music-also-helps-sleep-dep dept.
Gamasutra reports on a Wheeling Jesuit University study that indicates gameplaying can allow those with great pain to live more fulfilling lives. From the article: "The Wheeling study compared several different genres of games in their effects on pain. Six types of games were used: action, puzzle, arcade, fighting, sports, and boxing, all varieties that encourage high attention and stimulus. (Games such as RPGs and graphical adventures were likely left out of the survey for their low-impact nature.) The game types most effective in distracting from pain, meted out by cold pressor tests after 10 minutes of each subject playing a particular game type, were the sports and fighting games."
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Games Take Away the Pain More

Games Take Away the Pain

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  • Motrin vs Xbox360 (Score:3, Funny)

    by Rob_Ogilvie ( 872621 ) <rob@axpr.net> on Friday January 27, 2006 @04:02PM (#14582912) Homepage
    While the xbox360 may be more fun... it's also a *lot* more expensive than a couple Motrin.

  • It's true (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Eightyford ( 893696 ) on Friday January 27, 2006 @04:03PM (#14582926) Homepage
    Games (especially RPGs) are, in my opinion, the ultimate form of escapism. I'm not sure this need for constant stimulation is a good thing or not, but it really is a great way of avoiding the feelings of pain, embarrassment, and sadness.
    • I totally agree, especially when I was first starting to date girls. Yeah, so it's escapism, so what? Even movies are a break from reality for a couple of hours.

      At least my way was safe, unlike my friends who got into drugs and alcohol.
      • As someone who Uses all three (games, drugs and alcohol) Games hurt you too (no movement-bad for body, increased fat thus increased risk for heart disease and various other problems, Eyes open and focused on TV/Computer Screen for extended periods, bad for vision)...and are just as fun :)
    • Picture this. So you're in an instance and:

      - the "healer" doesn't heal. Ever. There could be a full team wipe happening around him, and he'd be out of mana blasting with his offensive spells, doing a whole 50% of a mage's damage output. (Yes, I know priests are a more complex class than just "healer", but there's something offensive when a paladin ends up spending half the mana to keep alive a priest that's busy blasting.)

      He does however raid all chests while everyone else is still in combat, or indeed got

  • That just raises another question... (Score:3, Funny)

    by jtorkbob ( 885054 ) on Friday January 27, 2006 @04:05PM (#14582946) Homepage
    ...who will take away the back pain I get from spending all day in front of my computer playing fighting and sports games?

  • I find that... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by DarqFallen ( 946938 )
    Sitting and Playing an Online RPG for 16 hrs straight gives me more pain than takes away.
  • Games CAUSE much pain...

    (pain from joysticks hitting my head from my "friends", pain from hitting my head against the wall, popped blood vessels after fighting Azaroth the boss from level 15 for the 27gazillionth time and still losing because the game cheats...)
  • How many times have you ran towards a save disk in GTA:SA, only to be gunned down by some stupid army guy, then lose all your hard earned minigun ammo cuz you died? That definately causes pain, not helps it...
  • Boxing is a separate category from both sports and fighting? RPGs left out because of low-impact, but puzzle games were included? These choices alone lower their credibility in my eyes.
    • I'd guess the kind of puzzle games they're talking about are the arcade Tetris genre rather than anything more cerebral - it's the adrenaline rush they're after rather than emotional or intellectual involvement. Of course it's a bit suspect limiting the study to action genres in the first place on that assumption.

  • Makes Sense... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by dcowart ( 13321 ) <dzcowart.gmail@com> on Friday January 27, 2006 @04:19PM (#14583116) Homepage Journal
    It sounds like adrenalin. The adrenalin rush from playing fighting and sports games serves to deaden pain. This is just what it's supposed to do as part of the built-in "Fight or Flight" response. It keeps us going when were dead tired, but still needing to run from lions.

  • Adrenaline ? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by IAAP ( 937607 ) on Friday January 27, 2006 @04:22PM (#14583150)
    FTFA: The game types most effective in distracting from pain, meted out by cold pressor tests after 10 minutes of each subject playing a particular game type, were the sports and fighting games.

    I wonder if these games produce an adrenaline response? It's like remembering a situation that really pissed you off and you start getting pissed off again - with the resulting adrenaline.

    A lot of athletes will use imaging techniques to perfect their game. Only in this instance, you're placing yourself in the role of the game character. So when he gets hit, so do you - in your head.

  • is boxing a type? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by fool36 ( 864682 ) on Friday January 27, 2006 @04:23PM (#14583156)
    Six types of games were used: action, puzzle, arcade, fighting, sports, and boxing

    How is boxing a type of game? Wouldn't it fall under fighting and/or sports?
    • How is boxing a type of game? Wouldn't it fall under fighting and/or sports?

      They couldn't decide which to put it in, so they made another category.

      Unless they're referring to those killer box-making games, where you learn the intricate processes of cardboard creation.

    • Maybe they were thinking about Stacker [theonion.com].
  • RPGs and graphical adventures were likely left out of the survey for their low-impact nature.
    RPGs, low impact? Yea right. Just play Panzer Dragoon Saga [rpgamer.com] and tell me it's any less intense than an action game.
  • I've presistant back pain. I've had is for a few years now, and while it's tollerable when I'm playing a game like WoW it's non-existant. I've known about this for a while now... I'm glad to see there's some research to back me up.
    • I've presistant back pain... I've known about this for a while now... I'm glad to see there's some research to back me up.

      No pun intended of course :)
    • Some of us have the opposite experience, but this is probably more due to bad posture and crappy chairs...
    • I used to have quite harsh persistent back-pain as well, and also something known as restless legs syndrome (basically my thighs have this dull aching when im sitting). I found that regular excersize has helped a LOT for both problems - i think for those of us who can get up and move about, excersize, or organized sports, might in fact be a lot better than video games. Although, video games are more convenient - so i guess one could use both.

      Or you could get the best of both worlds, with a game like DDR (
      • I saw a device at CES this year called the Powergrid. It can plug into multiple game systems like PS2, GameCube, Xbox, and uses isometric exercises to get you working out at the same time. It's immovable, and you have to press forward (HARD) to get moving forward in your game. Same with side to side movement.

        Here's a link: http://www.powergridfitness.com/ [powergridfitness.com]
  • This confirms the experiences I've had completely. Any time I'd get a migraine, I'd pull the shades down and launch a "one-more-turn-itis" game like Civ, MOO, etc. It not only reguarly helped reduce the pain, but it also helped me ignore the pain I had.
    • My wife also used games (the Shining Force series was the one that worked best for her) to fight her migraines. My son (who seems to have inherited her migraines) has also used this somewhat successfully.
  • I always thought it was the large amounts of alcohol I consumed while playing the game.

    "Look1nga fr grppp! Eh! Wut are you lokking at! Lt me togle" pvp NOW u die nooadfbah ah shit ya killed me SONF OF SFSDFSDFFCKUDSIEFEIJDSasdfasdfFOJ!!!1!1"

  • I use this technique; it also works w/ books & (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ahbi ( 796025 ) on Friday January 27, 2006 @04:48PM (#14583461) Journal
    I use this technique. I get migraines (full on once per 6-8 weeks, mini-migraines once per 2 weeks).

    And when I say migraine I don't mean "Oh, my head hurts." I mean "I see bright spots, Now one side of my head feels like a stiletto is being driven into it. I think I'll take a triptan (pill) and lie down and get nauseous for 6-12 hours. Then I think I'll feel weak with random short stiletto pains for 2-7 days."
    BTW, thank God for triptans. Until 5 years ago the doctor approved remedy was "take two sleeping pills and go to bed". I have trained myself to go unconscious as quickly as possible once a migraine starts. The triptan doesn't solve the initial headache, but it substantially reduces the secondary effects, making me an invalid for only 1-2 days as opposed to a full week.

    Playing a game that consumes as much of my attention as possible greatly relieves that pain. And, while I am sure adrenaline doesn't hurt, it isn't needed. Reading a consuming book or watching consuming TV works just as well. Even computer programming works to dull the pain.

    But "consuming" is the important point. Crap TV is useless. I have to care more, much more, about what is going on on the screen or in the book than I do about my head.

    Another reason games and TV work better than reading, is that the migraine makes it hard to focus on text. The words jump around or bright spots appear in my field of vision. Things that are constantly changing and have large visual areas (vs the pinpoint area for reading) means that I can lose more of the information on the screen and still understand (or not even notice the visual error).
  • Its a no-brainer. While playing games most of the attention of the player is diverted towards the game itself which subdues the intensity of the pain signals processed by the brain. Yes, your brain is capable of classifynig the priority of areas requiring attiontion. Have you ever noticed that if you get two injuries, then you will only feel pain in the one which is more serious.

  • Fibromyalgia (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Speaking as someone with Fibromyalgia, I've found that getting into a good videogame or novel can really push physical sensation so far into the background that it's not really noticeable. I'm mostly into Strategy and RPG games, I've never thought to compare, but getting intellectually engrossed in a game is quite effective without adrenaline pumping play.

    I wonder if videogames are essentially guided meditation? Thinking about pain definitely makes it seem worse, just having something to help get the mind
  • Funny how an article like this should turn up, just when we were starting to develop sensory-neural interfaces, pain receptors, to be integrated in those action games, so we can feel those punches and shots.

  • Life is painful. . . (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Fantastic Lad ( 198284 ) on Saturday January 28, 2006 @10:09AM (#14587861)
    That's how we grow. Even the activities which we love most involve pain while we learn how to do them.

    So do you want your kid to grow up with a lot fewer life skills? Why not give him or her a video game-box to spend all those thousands of childhood growth hours on?

    Heck, why not plug yourself into a game box as well? Why grow into a skilled and accomplished person with fine-tuned power over your emotional and spiritual being when you can be turning pixels on and off, over and over and over?

    I know I'm being hypocritical here. . , I've wasted zillions of hours on video crack in my youth as well, and even learned a few useful skills and tactics doing so. --But I also built my own computer when I was a kid, went to creative lengths to pirate all my games, and most importantly, I didn't start until I was 12 years old. I'd wager that when today's kids are as old as my generation is now, they'll be generally much less socially aware and physically capable as a direct result of too much video crack when their young brains should be sucking up as much real-world experience as possible.


    -FL

  • Obviously they don't mean Tendonitis and RSI.

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