Distraction and coping with pain

McCaul, Kevin D.; Malott, James M.

doi:10.1016/0304-3959(85)90138-1

Cited by 139 publications

(97 citation statements)

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“…According to the limited attentional capacity theory, people have a limited amount of attention. Thus, it is a commodity that must be competitively allocated (e.g., McCaul & Malott, 1984). Pain may be one of the demands that receives attention, as well as other tasks that may also need to be achieved.…”

Section: Theoretical Accounts Of the Interplay Between Attention And Painmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pain and Attention

Lubbe¹,

Wiering²

2018

Oxford Scholarship Online

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Attention plays a pivotal role in the experience of pain and its impact upon daily activities. Accordingly, research on the interplay between attention and pain has a long scientific history. This chapter discusses the theoretical frameworks that aim to explain the relationship between attention and pain. It argues for a motivational perspective on pain that highlights the critical role of cognitive, affective, and contextual factors in explaining the interplay between attention and pain. To substantiate this argument, the chapter provides an overview of available research addressing the bottom-up capture of attention by pain and the top-down modulation (both inhibition and facilitation) of attention for pain. It concludes with guidelines and suggestions for future research and discusses clinical implications of adopting a motivational perspective on pain.

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Section: Theoretical Accounts Of the Interplay Between Attention And Painmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pain and Attention

Lubbe¹,

Wiering²

2018

Oxford Scholarship Online

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“…14,15 An important finding in pain research was the realization that attentional distraction can reduce the level of perceived pain. 24 A further cornerstone in pain research was the realization of the difference between sensory and affective aspects of pain, 25 which led to the development of highly useful pain measurement instruments and intervention techniques. 26 Various studies have revealed that these sensory and affective aspects of pain are differentially influenced by attentional distraction, [27][28][29][30][31] which can be used in cognitive interventions to reduce the perception of pain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attentional distraction reduces the affective but not the sensory dimension of perceived dyspnea

Leupoldt

Seemann

Gugleva

et al. 2007

Respiratory Medicine

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The perception of dyspnea shows many similarities to the perception of pain. Both are multidimensional processes, which are not only influenced by sensory input but also by nonsensory factors like attention. Recent research has suggested that attentional distraction might reduce the perception of dyspnea but results are conflicting. Furthermore, the specific impact of attentional distraction on the distinct dimensions of perceived dyspnea has not been studied yet. Therefore, the present study examined the specific impact of changes in the attentional focus on the sensory and affective dimension of perceived dyspnea. Dyspnea was induced in forty-four healthy volunteers (mean age: 27.7 years, range: 18-47 years) by breathing through an inspiratory resistive load (3.57 kPa/L/s), while attention was directed either to breathing or distracted by reading texts. Inspiratory time (T(i)) and breathing frequency (f) were measured continuously. After each condition the experienced intensity (i.e., sensory dimension) and unpleasantness (i.e., affective dimension) of dyspnea were rated on separate visual analog scales (VAS), presented in randomized order. ANOVAs showed that attentional distraction during loaded breathing reduced the perceived unpleasantness of dyspnea (P<0.05), while the perceived intensity of dyspnea as well as T(i) and f remained unchanged. The results show that attentional distraction reduces the affective, but not the sensory dimension of induced dyspnea in healthy volunteers. Future studies are needed to clarify whether attentional distraction can effectively be used as intervention technique for reducing the unpleasant aspects of dyspnea in different patients groups.

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“…In other words, if the patient is attending to another stimulus (such as visual and audio stimuli from VR device) away from the noxious stimuli, they will perceive pain of less intensely. 25 Wickens proposed the Multiple Resources Theory, which indicate that resources in different sensory systems function independently. This view is in support of the nature of VR technology, which is based on integrating multimodal sensory distractions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Reality-Assisted Pain, Anxiety, and Anger Management in the Emergency Department

Sikka

Shu

Ritchie

et al. 2019

Telemedicine and e-Health

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Study Objective: Pain management in emergency department (ED) patients is challenging. Although both pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapies exist, they are often suboptimal. Immersive virtual reality (VR) uses distraction and possible other methods to reduce perceptions of pain. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the usability and acceptability of VR applications in ED patients by assessing patientreported changes in pain, anger, and anxiety levels. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study at a single academic urban tertiary care center among ED patients with a pain score ‡3 on a numeric rating scale (0-10 integers) for any reason. Patients with stroke, epilepsy, dementia, or other diseases that may prevent use of VR were excluded. Enrolled patients in the intervention cohort spent 20 min using VR applications. A paired t test was used to analyze the change of pain, anger, and anxiety scores between pre-and postintervention. Analysis of variance and linear regression were used to assess the impact of other subject variables (including gender, age, race, and education) on pre-post intervention changes. Results: One hundred (N = 100) patients were enrolled in this study and 93 experienced the VR intervention. Of these, 57 (61.3%) were women, and mean age was 38 -14. Mean anger (2.28 -0.8 to 1.92 -0.7, p < 0.0001), anxiety (2.06 -0.8 to 1.81 -0.8, p < 0.0001), and pain (7.16 -2.5 to 6.49 -2.7, p < 0.0001) levels dropped significantly from pre-to postintervention. Outcomes of the VR intervention were impacted by subject variables, including education and ethnicity. Pain (1.86 -3.3, p = 0.03) and anger (1.03 -1.4, p = 0.02) levels dropped most for those with less than high school education. Linear regression analysis revealed that patients with higher levels of health/quality of life (QOL) had larger mean drop per unit predictor for anger (0.29 [0.09], p = 0.0013) and anxiety (0.22 [0.07], p = 0.001).Conclusions: VR applications are feasible for ED patients and may lead to reduced pain, anger, and anxiety levels. These outcomes are affected by subject ethnicity, educational status, and health/QOL although independent of the chief complaint.

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Distraction and coping with pain

Cited by 139 publications

References 0 publications

Pain and Attention

Pain and Attention

Attentional distraction reduces the affective but not the sensory dimension of perceived dyspnea

Virtual Reality-Assisted Pain, Anxiety, and Anger Management in the Emergency Department

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