These Doctors Are Giving Real Pain The Virtual Treatment

Virtual Reality In The Medical Field

The days of prescribing pills may be done…if virtual reality can take its place. You may be asking: how could VR (virtual reality) take the place of medicine? Dr. Brennan Spiegel, a digital health researcher, says when we are in pain, we have a tendency to rub that area to distract our brain from the pain we are feeling.

“What VR is doing is kind of like massaging the brain and sending signals like a massive spotlight straight into your brain. It’s so overwhelming that the mind is not capable of thinking of these other things, like pain signals coming from the toe,” Dr. Spiegel says.

Researchers are testing VR across different platforms to see where it fits best, but the main theme seems to be with pain management. Specifically, chronic pain. The opioid epidemic is causing researchers, like Dr. Spiegel, to find alternative ways to deal with pain that don’t involve something addictive.

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6 years ago
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