Effortless hack enables conscious breathing for pain alleviation
In a groundbreaking development, a research group at the University of Michigan is working on making mindful breathing a more accessible and effective tool for pain relief. This innovative approach, known as Virtual Reality (VR) breathing, promises to provide a more immersive, multisensory experience compared to traditional mindful breathing.
The research team is using VR technology to help patients engage in mindful breathing. This immersive environment not only engages the visual and auditory parts of the sensory cortex but also provides a cognitive load beyond simple distraction. For instance, a study involving children undergoing blood draws showed that VR use led to less pain and anxiety compared to traditional distractions like blowing bubbles or reading.
Dr. Alexandre DaSilva, an associate professor at the University of Michigan's School of Dentistry, explains that while traditional mindful breathing engages the frontal cortex, VR breathing engages the sensory cortex. This difference in engagement could lead to greater pain reduction and anxiety relief.
The practice of VR breathing involves patients wearing a viewer that shows them a pair of three-dimensional lungs and a belt that synchronizes the movement of the virtual lungs with their own breathing. This visual and auditory feedback can serve as a powerful tool for maintaining focus during the breathing exercise.
However, for some people, focusing on internal sensations like breathing can be challenging. In such cases, VR breathing could offer a more engaging and effective alternative.
In comparison, traditional mindful breathing focuses primarily on attention and breath-focused exercises. While effective, it may not offer the same level of immersion and cognitive engagement as VR breathing.
A randomized controlled trial with adults suffering from chronic low back pain reported significant and durable pain reduction lasting up to 24 months with an 8-week VR program combining diaphragmatic breathing, biofeedback, mindfulness, and cognitive/emotional regulation. This demonstrates VR's potential as a non-pharmacological, in-home, and behaviorally oriented approach to pain management.
In summary, VR breathing offers a highly immersive, multisensory context that directly influences brain mechanisms of pain modulation and emotional regulation, enhancing the benefits of traditional mindful breathing. While traditional mindful breathing is effective for pain relief mainly through attention regulation and relaxation, VR breathing offers an immersive, multisensory context that can lead to significant pain and anxiety reduction.
Ongoing studies are assessing the use of immersive VR in ICUs and surgical patients to further quantify these benefits and explore psychological comfort beyond pain. While hypnosis shares some features with mindful breathing in acute pain reduction, it has not demonstrated clear efficacy for chronic pain, unlike VR interventions.
In conclusion, VR breathing can be viewed as an enhanced, technology-assisted evolution of mindful breathing, leveraging presence and multisensory immersion for improved pain relief. With its potential for long-term benefits and significant pain reduction, VR breathing is an exciting development in the field of pain management.
[1] Source: The Journal of Pain [2] Source: Pain Medicine [3] Source: Journal of Medical Internet Research [4] Source: The Cochrane Library
- The research in health-and-wellness at the University of Michigan suggests that Virtual Reality (VR) breathing could lead to greater pain reduction and anxiety relief than traditional mindful breathing due to its engagement of the sensory cortex.
- VR breathing, a tool in the field of education-and-self-development and personal-growth, offers an immersive, multisensory context that might provide a more engaging and effective approach for individuals finding it challenging to focus on internal sensations like breathing.
- Science has shown that VR breathing could be an essential component in the health-and-wellness industry, particularly for patients experiencing chronic low back pain, as demonstrated by a study published in The Journal of Pain.
- With ongoing studies quantifying the benefits of VR in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and surgical settings, the field of mental-health may see further advancements in using VR breathing as a non-pharmacological, in-home approach to pain management.
