Nursefriendly.com: Distraction as a method of Pain Relief

Saturday, March 5, 2011

HITLab Projects : VR Pain Control (Virtual Reality, Distraction Techniques)

The University of Washington Harborview Burn Center, directed by Dr. Nicole Gibran, is a regional burn center. Patients with severe burns from 5 surrounding states are sent to Harborview for special care. Harborview has pioneered a number of advanced treatments (e.g., early skin grafting). As a result of advances here and elsewhere, the chances of surviving a bad burn, and quality of living for survivors has improved dramatically over the past 20 years.

Unfortunately, the amount of pain and suffering experienced by patients during wound care remains a worldwide problem for burn victims as well as a number of other patient populations.

When patients are resting (most of the time), opioids (morphine and morphine-related chemicals) are adequate for controlling their burn pain.

In sharp contrast, during wound care such as daily bandage changes, wound cleaning, staple removals etc., opioids are not enough, not even close. As shown in the figure on the right above, over 86% of the burn patients reported having severe to excruciating pain during wound care (shown in red), even when standard levels of opioids were used. The pain management techniques in use are not good enough. Patients are suffering, a fact particularly disturbing when the patients are children.

via hitl.washington.edu

Click on the "via" link to read the rest of the article.

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Monday, February 28, 2011

Looking Photos of Loved Ones Gives Relief from Pain | TopNews United States

According to the scientists at Stanford University, looking pictures of loved ones reduces pain.

Their study revealed that watching image of romantic partner dulls the activity in the pain-processing part of the brain, to a same degree as paracetamol or cocaine.

In this study, brains of love struck students were subjected to MRI scan as they were made to focus on their love partners while varying heat pains were given on their skin.

Neuroscientist Jarred Younger found that average pain got reduced by 36 to 44 percent and intense pain got reduced by 13 percent.

In a study published in the U. S. journal Public Library of Science, the post-doctoral scholar said, "The reduction of pain is associated with higher, cortical parts of the brain."

It was found that more primitive aspect of the brain block pain at a spinal level, quite similar to how opoid analgesics work.

Key site for love-induced analgesia is the nucleus accumbens, a key reward addition centre for opoids, and other drugs. This tells us that we do not need to depend on drugs to reduce pain.

Researchers at the University of California found that women showed significant reduction in pain experience while holding their partner’s hand.

via topnews.us

Click on the "Via" link to read the full article.