New research claims to show how playing sports and fighting games can help fight pain.

Quote: Originally Posted by NextGeneration Students at Wheeling Jesuit University found that some games can distract patients from suffering. Dr. Bryan Raudenbush said, "Our students found that these gaming distractions may be most helpful in children and young adults undergoing painful procedures or suffering from chronic pain, as these individuals comprise the largest gamer demographics." Full story at NextGen

I suffer from chronic pain, and i will say without hesitation that gaming definitely helps me to manage pain (and, um, i'm a wee bit older than the participants in the study). Unfortunately, it's not enough for me to be able to eschew or cut down on the the pain meds, but, h3ll, i'll take every little bit that i can get.

I think the key here isn't the activity so much as it's the amount of concentration and focus that's required while performing the activity (well, to be safe, throw the enjoyment factor into the mix FTW).

I've seen articles of this nature in the past, and i'm very pleased to see that they continue to get attention (i've also read of hospitals and the like that already make use of videogames for the same circumstances that are mentioned in the above lilnked article)....great link, NCXC (heh, actually, all of your links are great )