By Meghan Frank and Neal Carter
Rock Center
Lieutenant Sam Brown could not wait to experience combat.
“It's an interesting thing, this desire to go to combat. It's something that's fantasized for people that have not experienced it,” Brown told NBC’s Natalie Morales in an interview airing Thursday on Rock Center with Brian Williams. “And so, I had a really strong desire to be a part of that. To me, that was a way to serve my country,” he said.
Lieutenant Sam Brown
Born to a proud military family, Brown attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and trained to become a member of the elite Army Rangers 1st infantry division. In 2008, Brown deployed for his first tour of duty to Kandahar, Afghanistan.
But on the last day of his mission, a nearby platoon was ambushed. Lieutenant Brown sprang into action, leading his troops to the vicious firefight to provide backup.
“I led them to the combat. And then, that's when we hit the IED.,” recalled Brown.
His Humvee ran over an improvised explosive device and exploded into a fireball. His body was engulfed in flames and Brown suffered third degree burns over 30% of his body. His injuries were so severe he was kept in a medically induced coma for the first few weeks to help him survive.
Brown was airlifted back to the United States and examined by Dr. Christopher Maani, an anesthesiologist in the burn unit of Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
“With burn injury, that rehabilitative process can go on for weeks to months, sometimes even years if the burn is significant enough as it was in Sam's case,” Dr. Maani said.
Remains of Lt. Sam Brown's Humvee after running over IED
Lt. Brown endured more than two dozen painful surgeries, but the most excruciating pain came from the daily wound care and the physical therapy that followed. The procedures were so unbearable that there were times when Brown's superior officers would have to order him to undergo treatment.
Brown was deeply concerned about growing dependent on the addictive painkilling narcotics he needed to take. So, his doctor suggested something completely unexpected to relieve his pain: a video game.
“I was a little bit skeptical. But honestly, I was willing to try anything,” Brown admitted.
A video game may sound silly, but this particular game, SnowWorld, is a groundbreaking experiment in virtual reality. In SnowWorld, Brown could concentrate on throwing snowballs at penguins and mastodons to the music of Paul Simon, instead of focusing on the painful wound care happening at the same time.
Dr. Maani explained that SnowWorld uses the age old trick of distraction.
“It's saying, ‘Hey, look over there,’ when you rip off your child's band aid,” Dr. Maani said.
The video game provides the distraction that overwhelms the senses and diverts the brain’s attention away from processing the pain signals.
The virtual reality of SnowWorld was dreamed up at the University of Washington by two psychologists, Dr. David Patterson and Dr. Hunter Hoffman.
SnowWorld
Dr. Patterson had been working with burn patients and he explained that the treatment they have to undergo is excruciating and can feel more painful than getting the burn itself.
“With virtual reality distraction, you're taking a painful procedure like scrubbing off a wound,” Patterson said. “You're just taking the person and putting them in an alternate world. And it works for as long as people seem to be in the virtual world.”
Dr. Hoffman had been using virtual reality to help people confront their fear of spiders. But this time, instead of bringing his patients face to face with what they dreaded most, he'd do the opposite. The doctor decided to give them a soothing icy world to make them forget.
In 2011, the military conducted a small study using SnowWorld and got stunning results. For soldiers in the worst pain, SnowWorld worked better than morphine. And, with thousands of troops having suffered severe burns and trauma from IED blasts, the military is determined to find new ways to treat pain.
WATCH ROCK CENTER VIDEO: Doctor prescribes video game to ease soldier's pain
Dr. Hoffman is surprised when it comes to the therapy’s success.
“The fact that you're getting such huge reductions in pain using something that's not a drug is a paradigm shift,” he said.
For Sam Brown, SnowWorld was a Godsend. For the first time since his accident, he felt relief, without drugs.
“I really had very little sensation of pain, as I had previously experienced,” Brown said.
But it wasn't just SnowWorld that helped Brown recover. He found something even more powerful to heal his pain.
When Lt. Brown was out of the hospital, his dietician Amy Larsen would call and check to make sure he was receiving his nutritional supplements. One time when she called his old self came through.
“I asked if there was anything else that he needed. And he kind of started to joke around with me a little bit, and he said, 'Can you send me some doughnuts too?'” Larsen laughed. “And then I could tell that Sam kind of wanted to talk a little bit more.”
Brown worked up the courage to ask Larsen out to a rodeo and the two began dating, but at times he couldn't believe that what was happening was real. Brown had convinced himself that no one would ever be able to look beyond his physical scars.
One day a chaplain came to speak with Brown and reassured him he would find someone who would see past his wounds.
Brown said the chaplain told him “Someone will see beyond those scars, will fall in love with you, and you'll have a beautiful family one day." Laughing in disbelief, Brown dismissed the chaplain’s words, but six months later the chaplain was officiating Larsen and Brown’s wedding.
Three years after the blast Brown and Larsen welcomed a son, Roman, into the world. Brown lives with very little pain now and he says he no longer needs the distraction of SnowWorld.
The combat soldier turned family man has a brighter outlook on the new life around him. Brown said with pride, “The world I have now with Amy, and Roman, and God willing, more children, is all I need.”
Lt. Sam Brown with his wife Amy and son Roman
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The 'groundbreaking' experiment is designed to successfully treat the consequences of engagements in volatile military actions, abetted by the tech industry, rather than the research and experimentation of greater diplomacy and sincere desire for peace amongst humankind; more emphasis, energy, and tax monies placed into reconstruction after destruction, not frayed by the corporate and political powers that would instigate them. Where then is the same groundbreaking experimentation for peace and social concerns in our world and in our time? Please do not tout the preservation of human life and alleviation of pain in those who willfully engage in combat when much has yet to be done to preserve human life and alleviate the pain and suffering of millions in the world.
War is money. War is big business. War lines the pockets of old rich white men around the globe.
It's true that video games, also, are "money", and "big business".
But not near as lucrative as war...........
War isn't about "Freedom".
War is about turning the average commoner into cannon fodder, as the average commoner is replaceable and there's millions of 'em. You lose a few - more where THEY came from, especially with a carrot on a stick, such as, money for college.
How many of those boys (and women, too) went halfway around the world because their parents cannot afford to pay for their education?
It doesn't matter now - you don't need a degree when you come home in a damn BOX.
Do you think burns only occur from military combat? Or perhaps you think medical treatment should be withheld from wounded soldiers? Your logic doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
That's an easy position to take from the comfort of your house. I'm not so sure the young women being sold and raped in Afghanistan would necessarily agree with you. As a veteran of 21 years I know I don't. But not to worry, there are enough good people in world to make sure people like you have the opportunity to live in your life in your own twisted version of reality.
Both of you are quite idiotic in your comments. I joined the military not because I couldnt do anything else with my life. I joined because I wanted something more. Liza did you even read the story before commenting? The guy they are talking about here graduated from West Point so all your college mumbo jumbo is just that. Anyone can choose a 8000-15000 dollar student loan over going into the military. Most who join, join for a reason. Sometimes its to get away from family, sometimes its just to prove a point within themselves, sometimes its peer pressure, but they join for a reason and its not for school. Those in the airforce are in the military for school, low risk for the reward. Brenner "Where then is the same groundbreaking experimentation for peace and social concerns in our world and in our time?" its in the same world and same time as you. where do you think the majority of todays life saving techniques came from? The military... Why do you think the medical field has been able to get better and better every year? the military. The military protects (keeps us from being over run by third world extremist) serves (national guard) and supplies an ample supply of different types of human injuries your sorry (insert word) would never have in the comfort of your office seat that by the way is there because of our military. Have a nice one
video game ? bs.... ya think maybe finding new love and starting a family made a difference?
I hate when medical researchers take things out of context for their personal gain
Go get 'em TOHYI,
Anyone who has every worked in the aerospace industry knows that the majority of technological breakthroughs have come from the military (think anti-lock breaks) then to the commercial world (think anti-skid braking on commercial jets) and then down to the consumer (anti-lock braking systems in our cars). Oh, another idea: TRAUMA and TRIAGE - came directly out of WWII as did some of basics of today's open-heart surgeries. I'm not saying we should engage in wars to generate ideas. However, when good people are willing to stand up for what they believe and for what OTHERS don't even appreciate, people like you should speak very cautiously and make sure you check your facts before unleash your rhetoric.
I'm sure this treatment will have absolutely zero applicable use outside of the military context, so good point OP.
I found it interesting that the article opened with Lieutenant Brown describing a desire to go into combat in an article about how a video game can help the wounded recover from PTSD. It would seem that most people of recent generations who would fantasize about combat have developed that behavior from trying 'virtual' combat in video games while growing up.
If combat did go exactly like one would hope it would, any normal person would be haunted by it for the rest of their lives when a guilty conscience gets the best of them. Many people seem to assume that they'll just charge in and vanquish all their adversaries, but in reality, the math just doesn't work out on that! If that happens, you were probably slaughtering the wrong people. They either were non combatants, thought they were your allies, or else had no means with which to defend themselves. Hardly 'bad guy' material, right? So now you're guilty of conducting a massacre.
In most all 'honest' combat, your adversaries are well armed. They may have older weapons and a much lower level of technology, but what they have is still very potent and represents a deadly threat that cannot be taken lightly. And as the old saying goes, 'scared man runs faster than angry man'. They'll use the weapons they have, inferior though they may supposedly be, to the best of their ability to repel or destroy you. When this happens, any ideas you may have had about how easy or simple the 'combat' you idealized would be get changed very quickly.
We need people who are committed to train and be ready to go into combat, because that is exactly what you get when someone else attacks or invades, and that's the start of most wars. But everyone who volunteers to do that really needs to know what they're in for, and the vast majority of those who enlist and go into combat arms fields have no idea what they may be in for. Usually, any concept they've got is based on Hollywood's take on combat, which typically rather sanitizes a very ugly business. I don't have any problems with movies, really, just as long as they don't mislead anyone. To that end, I feel anyone who is thinking about becoming a soldier really needs to watch the first half hour of the movie Saving Private Ryan when they show in vivid detail how what was supposed to be a very easy 'stroll' onto Omaha beach went horribly wrong after the landing force was blown off course by a mile or so and landed right in front of the machine gun bunkers they had planned to avoid, a very costly mistake indeed. THAT is the kinds of things that always go wrong in battle plans and what warriors always find themselves having to deal with.
this is not new tech its mind over matter but it does work for short periods of time and is very beneficial to the person to forget their pain even for a short period of time but after a while the pain creeps back so you have to keep the mind jumping around on different subjects
Leza knows Null about the military. If you look at the demographics of Combat Arms jobs, you will find a large percentage of the Soldiers are from middle to upper middle class families who joined the military because they wanted to serve their country. I have a college degree and I'm enlisted, not officer. There are many like me. I didn't need to join for job skills or college tuition, I joined because I love this country and wanted to serve. I've enjoyed serving so much that I've just completed my 23rd year of service. It bugs me when somebody like you spouts off about something you don't know about and throws insults at me while you're doing it. Perhaps you should just shut your cake hole and go hide under a rock until the bad people go away....
the same affect can be achieved with a good comedy, or anything that can grab and hold your attention. However all this is temporary.
@tohyl; man,wish you around when i was active usn in 80s.thats also a little misconception spread across that period.schools are good,and wanted back then,but maybe few maybe more,dont know understood about the right hand regaurdless.thnx to all.you 2 tohyl.
They can't see any profit in peace, only profit in pieces. human pieces.
The narctotic is also temporary, as it won't remain in the system forever... Also if the pain is from cleaning a wound, then the pain is also temporary, as they won't be cleaning it 24/7, and the wound will eventually heal. Temporary can serve it's purpose here, it's not the same as someone with permanent pain due to a medical condition that won't heal, or resulting from an operation where mettle or whatever was inserted in the body where one's feeling the pressure of it continually...
As to all this other, TheTiGor has a point, and I was thinking it myself at the start of the article, aka the number of people who go into combat, and come home with PTSD. What these people are asked, nay ordered to do isn't always easy. There's a lot that can be seen, a lot of consequences, and a lot people will have to live with, the rest of their lives.
But for people like the OPer, do you honestly believe everyone joins the military because they like killing, or that's all they can do? My sister's son has joined, as many of his friends had, BECAUSE OF 9/11 (he was a kid in school when it happened), and my brother in law was a cop in northern Jersey, who had to inform the next of kin of some victims that their relative wouldn't be comming home, as they lived in Jersey, but commuted to NYC where they worked in the WTC... It happened when they were in school. And mind you my sister's son joined as a medic for the US Army. Ask many a cop or emergency responder, or fire fighter why they do their job, when it's risky or what have you, and you might get a similar reason as to here. Not everyone is about the killing, more then you might imagine have entirely different reasons, such as protecting their family and friends, to help make the world a better or safer place... Don't assume that all the rhetoric from politicians necessarily applies to the people on the ground either. They are not the same, nor do they necessarily think with the same mind set...
You know, it's interesting but video games are also usable to overcome drug addiction in a clinic. Withdrawals can't hold a candle to the need for racking up achievements and with some supervision, someone can get cured of their need for a fix. I imagine depression can be treated this way, as well as anxiety. You just have to mold the VR to the condition and blam - brain stops hinging on bad until the repairs are complete.
I love when technology helps us. I'm glad this veteran got help that took care of him. I'm hoping also that there are fewer vets in the future that need to be helped and those that do get taken care of in the best possible way.
The 'groundbreaking' experiment is designed to successfully treat the consequences of engagements in volatile military actions, abetted by the tech industry, rather than the research and experimentation of greater diplomacy and sincere desire for peace amongst humankind; more emphasis, energy, and tax monies placed into reconstruction after destruction, not frayed by the corporate and political powers that would instigate them. Where, then, is the same groundbreaking experimentation for peace and social concerns in our world and in our time? Please do not tout the preservation of human life and alleviation of pain in those who willfully engage in combat when much has yet to be done to preserve human life and alleviate the pain and suffering of millions in the world.
and if you play that game after smoking pot the pain turns into pure pleasure...
Obviously, you have worked with no one with severe pain.
@brennerst1:
Your diplomacy idea might work if the U.N. actually some power that all members would respect and adhere to. Like the old leader Kofi who cared so much of his fellow Africans he sent the U.N. to stop everything that was being done in all of genocides on that continent. Or how about the Croat and Serbian genocides, where was your U.N. and the power to stop these acts. Wake up the U.N. has become the carbon copy of the old League of Nations, conference room with meetings but has no power to enforce its proclamations. Better yet, how about the members of the U.N. actually following the mandates that were passed by the U.N. council. Remember France, Russia, and others who didn't want to follow the decrees to stop trading with Iraq, so they did it under the table for profits. Freedom is not free, there is a price to pay. Since you are against us being in the Middle East, I will agree with one thing and that is we should not force a Democracy on this region we should find some even ground since religion is so closely tied to government. So you don't want us over there, then who will force the Taliban out of that country or you don't reading what happens to kids when they see something that is wrong, speaks out against it because its the right thing to do, then is murdered for standing up for what is right.Or this one, where girls the age of 8 are stolen from their parents and to work in brothels. How do you propose to stop this without the using the worthless UN? I'm sure the people that served in military would like to know too, so they don't have to be sent over there but when they are called on, they show up.
Great story, good news. The pharmaceutical companies are not going to like this.
Of course they will find way to obstruct progress, just as they have with herbal (Natural) drugs.
I can validate the basic premise here. I am a heart transplant candidate, Have survived two open heart surgeries and I have constant chest, and other frequent internal pains. I do not like opiates as they require increasing dosages to control the same level of pain.
I play the hardest video game in the world, which is a space simulation called Eve Online. When I have to focus on meaningless details I do get a lot of pain relief. My wife calls it the cheapest therapy in the world, because if I pay by the year its just 12 bucks a month.
When I am in the game, I really do forget about my spasms and chronic pains.
I look forward to the day some enlightened administration takes the initiative and makes herbal cures legal for all cases. Between herbal medications and video games, I no longer need opiates (I was on APC 10's).
The big pharma companies only exist to make profits, and frankly I do not understand why their patents and copyrights last so long. Patents and copyrights exist to encourage innovation and invention, for the good of the nation. NOT for the good of the stock holders.
If the government were to legalize cannabis it would make many Americans happy. Who would oppose a drug that you can grow in a window box?
Sounds like they were figuring something out, or developing upon the sort of phenomina that makes it possible for fire walkers to walk on hot coals without noticing or feeling the pain (or showing signs of symptoms tbh), and allows yogis to simply not mind the pain while in a deep state of meditation...
Not a bad move at all to apply some of this in the medical field, while finding ways to avoid having patients grow a dependency on narctotics in the process of treating them. The drug companies wouldn't like it in the least, I can't imagine the yogis would mind something like this being developed for such beneficial purposes...
I can vouch for the distracting powers of video games, particularly games the take the player into new worlds.. I've been playing RPGs since my 40's when a neighbor gave me his Sega Master System and a few games as he went off to college.. I'm now close to 70 and I'm still an avid player and have even more need of my games as pains from injuries grow more severe with age..
However, I have to agree with Reader From North Texas, this will NOT sit well with one of the most selfish and greediest of all big businesses, the pharmaceutical companies of the world.. You can bet they will try everything to denounce this method of pain control, especially when a BIG chunk of their money comes from the pain meds used by soldiers! They will figure out some way to combat this, perhaps claiming the video games are harmful in their own way.. They aren't, of course, but the 'pill pushers' WILL fight the loss of billions of dollars.. Hmmm, a huge jump in the cost of normal medicines, perhaps? Like the high-blood pressure meds I have to take or some other more common medications? Who knows, but you can just bet they ain't gonna go down without a BIG fight!
I think it's fabulous! How does it apply to veterans with PTS? Are some Nam veterans finding relief, too?
I think video games may help in coping with other medical maladies, as well.
My son had ADHD when he was younger, but it appeared to go away once he hit puberty. Playing video games helped him focus. The reason? You have to be very focused and quick when defeating video enemies, especially if you lose your "life". In other words, you snooze, you lose.
My Bother is the same way. He's had ADHD since we were kids and the only thing thats calmed him and made him focus were video games!
I play video games. I feel it helps a lot with my combat related PTSD, which I've been diagnosed with, as being chronic & severe for many years now. When I'm engrossed in a game (which you can't help but be), then that's what I'm thinking about. Not traumatic, horrific, or terrifying events that happened in the past, and so this relaxes me. Even games with violent action in them. Because its NOT real. Its a game. Releasing mental stress without harmful results. I've related this to my therapist and he thought if it helps, then its good, keep right on doing it. Skyrim (with its Vampire add-on) happens to be my current game and is almost endless. And whenever it starts getting too easy, I'll start over as a whole new character. I also have chronic physical pain, but haven't found this helps me with that, unless I try to remain completely motionless. Understand what I'm telling you is personal. To "me". I share this hoping it may help at least one person understand "it may" be something that could help "them". And it might not.
throwing snowballs at penguins and mastadons?? =[
wait till PETA hears about this!
Actually yes!
They use the technology today to treat Iraqi war vets.
is one from a veteran magazine
there's the link for "virtual vietnam"
this stuff is a good idea.a new way or venue between 'mind over matter' and 'nevermind what im doing,keep playing your almost there'. if it works,it works.
The art of Zen or mind over pain. This has been around a long time, ignore your pain by concentrating on another task. Grasshopper.
My brother had nearly sliced off his thumb in an on the job accident. The doctors however were amazed by the progress he had made in regaining range of motion and asked him what he was doing for Therapy...
His response, "Playing video games." The motion of using his thumb for the control sticks on the PS2 controllers helped him and save a lot of money in Physical therapy. He was doing the same exercises and he was focused on something aside from the injury.
We built the version of SnowWorld in the video. As Gin R guessed, we have also built VR applications for PTSD therapy. The results have been promising with Iraq War Vets and even 911 survivors. We have not worked on any applications for Vietnam Veterans. If you want more info you can look on Firsthand's web site.
The 'groundbreaking' experiment is designed to treat dogs the consequences of engagements in marketplace mayhem, abetted by the tech industry, rather than the research and experimentation of goofy people in orifice and sincere desire for peace amongst chickens and fireflies; more emphasis, energy, and tax monies placed into Mickey Mouse's company after destruction, not frayed by the corporate and political powers that would fornicate them. Where, then, is the same groundbreaking experimentation for pieces of poop and social morons in our world and in our time? Please do not tout the preservation of trees and alleviation of David Blaine in those who willfully engage in combat when much has yet to be done to pickles and alleviate the David Blaine and suffering of Martians in the world.
Wow, it's unbelievable how powerful our brains can be... Maybe we should focus on this pathway, instead of taking a pill, every time we ache. Controlling our brain might open all kinds of remedies and cures, we never thought possible!
Great insight, perhaps this is further proof of the power of prayer, and things like that. Mind over disease.
Medical Marijuana is useful for pain relief. It provides a distraction that helps many folks reduce the pain their brains amplify when not using the medication. And it lasts for hours. Sadly, since Pharmaceutical labs have not figured out how to profit from it, Medical Marijuana continues to be on a 1917 blacklist and continues to be feared in a society that is unwilling to understand the good qualities it can provide....
Right Let's ban tobacco and legalize marijuana. doesn't matter if you give it a name like medical marijuana its still marijuana. kids now raid parents legally prescribed non controlled meds to get high, what's to stop them from getting into this too. next we can legalize coke and crack because that has a pain relieving effect also, hey then heroin
, oh hell just let this already screwed up society do what ever it wants, right?
:pimp smacks brennerst1, Liza Null, Anthony California, and oldhamletman for their anti-war (which is, in fact, anti-peace) viewpoints and for their ignorance of the facts about modern medicine having largely military origins. If you elitist, arrogant, hypocritical, ivory tower living, judgmental, narcissistic idiots want peace, then you had better learn to pick up a gun and/or some other weapon(s)and start shooting and/or using the other weapons because humanity is a war-like species and even IF we lived at peace among ourselves, there would be no amount of time until some animal, insect, or whatever tried to kill us instead. The only way to peace and the dissolution of corrupt governments of ALL types is through warfare and revolution, period. Seven millennia of human history have proven my facts to be true and even your biggest "pacifists" like Gandhi even advocated violence at some point in their lives. You are living in your own little ivory towers and you are thinking that peace will become a reality when, in fact, nothing further could be from the truth.
:pimp smacks Jack - 295117 for his OCD polititard viewpoints of the "benefits" of "medicial marijuana." Hey, you judgmental, elitist, hypocritical, arrogant, narrow-minded, imbecilic jackwagon, your so-called "medical marijuana" is not being supressed by Big Pharma. More often than not, idiots like you, Big Pharma, and the drug cartels and other criminal syndicated are having an orgy and the lot of you are doing your New World Order pimps and johns like the obedient, submissive, slutty sheeple that you are in your lives. What about other cures from both a synthetic AND a natural standpoint? What about the cures that people from Asian and Native American cultures have not only HAD for generations but that kick the crap out of anything that is currently the "it" drug(s) that are out on the market today? Oh, but you want to feel like YOU want to be the supressed, oppressed, and bullied victim, never mind that you and your ilk are ALL just as guilty of those things as Big Pharma is now, are you not, you dimwits? You all need to quit talking about supression and the other things when you're just as guilty of doing the same exact deeds to other people who are promoting safer synthetic as well as natural drugs, you lying, judgmental, hypocritical, intolerant, narrow-minded, narcissistic, biased, power-hungry, power-mongering, egotistical, egomanaical, megalomaniacal, elitst, arrogany scumbags! It is all about money, bias, power, control, influence, payola, extortion, manipulation, and promoting fraudulent and deceptive practices to the lot of you selfish jerks, regardless of whether you are actually right (in which case you are clearly NOT) or wrong (in which case you ARE wrong).
Heroin is legal... so are methamphetamines... when administered by medical professionals. The point he was making is that weed isn't filled with these man made chemicals (which it might be when legalized).
It's ignorant people like you that are ruining society as a whole. Watch a documentary or read what the independent studies say. Weed is non addictive: 2% of users have a chance at MENTAL addiction.. like you can be mentally addicted to ANYTHING. When smoked through a water pipe or vaporizer (the same kind of device used on asthma patients) then it filters out nearly all of the harmful toxins. The best thing is that these toxins are made by your Creator not by man, and are way less harmful than those found in alcohol, cigarettes, and prescription drugs. Which, let me remind you, are all legal and easily accessible to the children you speak of... more harmful... and more accessible... but you're not up in arms against them. Why? because your Governor said so? because it's definitely not what your DOCTOR would say.
I should end this by mentioning I don't smoke marijuana. Oh, and you never hear about "high-driving" accidents or getting riddled with cancer and other drugs from marijuana. Even though a high percentage of our population uses the drug already.
You realize Doctors used to recommend cigarret brands
ALL drugs were legalized in Finland and drug use went down.
My statement#6.7 is not accurate. Drug use has gone up. Sorry.
This is a form of hypnosis. The critical factor is bypassed in this game and patients are guided into trance. Hypnosis is fabulous for pain management and PSTD.
it can be a form of hypnosis, though sometimes, with spinal injuries, the neurons transmitting the pain, can be redirected to something at eye level, which requires interaction, it helps reduce the pain signals w/o lowering the consciousness, which often happens in hypnosis. coming out of strong anesthesia can take months, the video games, those on the handheld devices promote thinking, word formation, it does the paradigm they referred to, it changes the pain to something the patient can look forward to taking into recovery. i love the videos, wouldnt survive some nights w/o these, nor would i take strong meds at bedtime at home, it disrupts restful, natural sleep. it can be a form of hypnosis for those whom dont want to take it further. ice wraps on the neck can also alleviate pain.
not a bad fix keep thinking like this. to remove the pain keep the mind from focusing on it. not bad at all.
It does work! Too many Americans want a "magic bullet" that requires no effort from them to deal with the pain. We Americans are pill eaters - we need "chill pills!" Long-term use of Rx drugs for pain cause more problems than relief!
Any mental activity which requires focus provides a relief from pain. The first requirement is to get out of bed. Get some exercise if it means taking 5 steps a day and working up from there. Getting out of pain is a pain at first, but once you feel alive again, it is worth every bit of effort!
Firstly: Thank you for your service to our country LT Brown.
What an inspirational story. It is nice to see technology used to heal. Having faith also keeps us going, as it did the LT during what must have been a hellish recovery, and it has me during times of adversity.
I lost my mother due the 9/11 attacks of war, specifically my mom was on American Flight 11 which was flown into the World Trade Center North by the same type of evil that planted that roadside bomb (IED).
So despite my yearning for peace, I am a realist and pragmatic. I know unless you leave our country and face our enemy face to face, it is harder to comprehend the pure evil and hatred that exists. The same pure evil and hatred like the real act of war committed against 2,974 innocent men, women, and children and other global citizens from 130 plus countries on 11 September 2001.
Bottom line: This is a happy story which arises from duty, honor, and service to country. To the naysayers who use this forum to exercise their first amendment rights to whine, rather than thank LT. Brown for his service and congratulate him on his new family have a wonderful day.
SUA SPONTE
Well said Wewillneverforget.....well said! I agree with you 100%. I am so happy for Lt. Brown and his wonderful family. God bless them and so happy they have found peace and love!
I used World of Warcraft to get through my medical situation which was very very severe. For 2 years it was my world and dulled the pain.
Video games are also addictive, and in very rare cases, deadly. Im sure you have all known kids that want to do nothing more than play video games, If they didnt have mommy to cater to them they would go without eating too. Im not sure if youve heard of people dropping dead after playing video games for days straight, but it happens.
Yes, simply put-4281296, video games can be quite addictive. Anything can--even food (which is why some have started Overeaters Anonymous) But do you know how addictive opiates are? And people with chronic pain will build up tolerance to where more and more is needed to mediate the pain. All in all, this is good news because it gives us one more tool in our drug free pain management toolbox. And like the food addict, if there is a chronic pain sufferer out there who is a video game addict, then ways to utilize pain reduction techniques without giving into that addiction can be figured out.
Lisa, you're exactly right. As an ex-addict, it's very difficult to explain to people who haven't had the same experiences just how much these drugs can pull you in and take a hold of your life. Even if you did start taking them because they were medically advised by a professional. I think this is an incredible breakthrough, because if there's any way that pain can be managed without the need to prescribe narcotics, the risk of setting a patient up for a battle with addiction in which they may or may not win will be far less than it has been up until this point.
Yep.. Video games are WAY more addictive than morphine.
I was crushed by about a ton of horse flesh when mine, with me on his back rolled backwards on me down a small hill. Pretty much every part of me, including my neck was broken / fractured / torn or all of the above. I started using morphine, 10 years ago. Early on I realized I had a tendency to up my dose to get a buzz. At one point, I realized the buzz was not helping me with the pain but offering a little pleasure. That's when I realized it was better for me in the long term just to go for pain relief and to accept that the morphine could only offer a bit of relief and that I shouldn't hope I would ever be 'pain free'.
I also manage my life with acupuncture, massage, exercise ( yes, pushing oneself can produce it's own pain killer) injections of cortisone and a nerve block that actually burns the nerve away.
My doctors are impressed with the fact that I have not increased my dosage in 10 years and that I function as well as I do, at 67 years of age. The 'zen' part of the comments is something I recognized right away. I've practiced yoga since I was a teen. My physical condition as an amateur athelete helped me survive the ordeal. I guess I'm saying there is no one answer or one easy answer to how we handle pain. I know some people who slam their hand in a door and have to take drugs. I just smile at them. If they only knew what REAL pain was?
Just thought I'd through my thoughts in on the matter. I have been in chronic, intractable pain for nearly 30 years, due to (mainly) degenerative disc disease), add in chronic depression, fibromyalgia PTSD, and a few other annoyances and you have a man in his 60s who has run the gambit of pain medicines, devices, etc. I currently have an implanted morphine pump that delivers meds 24/7, take 30mg bumps as needed by mouth just to get through the day and at night it is sleeping meds, yes medical marijuana and another 30mg of morphine to get 4-6 hours of crappy sleep. I discovered video gaming years ago and find that for the time I play the pain is substantially lessened, so I say use what works and stay informed and OPEN MINDED about new/alternative treatments and other peoples trials.
I rather be addicted to a video game than addicted to a narcotic!
I am very interested in this I am going back to college, my major is animation/game design...I suffered as a kid with ADD...and to see another application for game design interesting!
Cool, how about we talk sometime, Trillian? E-mail me at
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This is WONDERFUL news! I wonder if this would work for chronic pain as well. My mom-in-law has chronic pain from 5 deteriorating vertebra in her back. I will be talking to my hubby and mom-in-law about this..:)
Lt. Sam Brown, thank you for your service to us, the citizens of this country! I am very happy for you that you found true love and drug-free pain relief, both! Whenever you see a rainbow in the sky--that is a banner for you that says "WELCOME HOME!!"
To brennerst1 and Lisa Null: I was a teenager during the Vietnam war. The first boy I ever dated was drafted and sent to Vietnam 2 months later. He was caught up in the Tet Offensive, and was the only one left alive out of his WHOLE PLATOON. When the choppers picked him up, he was still shooting at the Viet Cong--and with a bad stomach wound! When he was recuperating from surgery in Guam, a bunch of us friends of his got together and wrote him a toilet paper letter (magic markers and a fresh roll of white toilet paper--we did all kinds of great things--notes, sketches, jokes, get well wishes etc). His commanding officer asked him to share it with the other wounded men there:) Then when he flew into Bakersfield a bunch of us met him at the airport with a great big sign that said "WELCOME HOME DANNY!" on it. Years later, when I look back at that and realize that what we gave Danny was so different and good compared to what most of our returning Vietnam Vets got, I am just grateful that we kids, as innocent and naive as we were, somehow caught light of the fact that Danny needed and deserved the welcome home that we gave him. Regardless of who caused Danny to go to Nam, Danny and the rest of our soldiers deserve our utmost respect and gratitude. The only argument rests in the hands of the politicians, and that's where we need to address our disagreements. Yes, work for peace! But always remember to support our troops!
this is just my opinion as a chronic pain sufferer, but i don't know if it would work so much on chronic pain. the thing with chronic pain is that you can't be distracted 24/7, and depending on the severity, there can be no distraction at all. if i wasn't on my medications, my pain (it covers most of my body) is so severe that i can't even hear my own thoughts. perhaps being able to get lost in a virtual world would be great if she experiences flare ups, but probably not for lingering pain.
that said, anything is worth a try. find something that would interest her. when they said this game was about snow, i immediately thought, "making them see ice when they are dealing with burns is a great mind-over-matter trick." when i watch the weather channel and they show snow, no matter how hot i am, i shiver, so i understand why that specific game is used in these instances. so it doesn't need to be this specific of a game if she has back pain, just make sure her avatar doesn't have to carry things! it may remind her about her back. games where the avatar runs or jumps or does active things she no longer can, i bet she would get a kick out of that, the virtual feeling of being active again can have positive emotional benefits.
The story would be interesting if they explained how the program works or what statistics have shown regarding efficacy. It ended up being just a feel good piece about one individual instead of a story about a groundbreaking treatment. Facts are hard I guess....pulp about a returning veteran is easy.
There are alot of statistics out there.. You just have to do your own work.
Things have changed or did officers over step?When was the right too choose what medical care you get in military?This is something that happens in a social state just what are military fight to prevent.
"The procedures were so unbearable that there were times when Brown's superior officers would have to order him to undergo treatment."
When you are that severely injured and/or that amount of pain, you could careless if you are supposed to be doing something or not when the pain overrides everything in your life since its always constant and the severity doesnt even break a tiny bit. They had to order him or he would not have done the physical therapy. Even your most favorite thing to do in the world will be overrun by the pain and then its not enjoyable to do anymore so why bother. Other thoughts creep into your mind since evertything they tried to do to cut the severity of the pain isn't working at all, why bother making it hurt even more, eventhough you know that you must do the physical therapy to rebuild your muscles and movement
I read the article and the following comments and I must say that I am just sick! You are all entitled to your opinion, but I am ashamed to share this country with you. Our soldiers join to serve their country and insure your rights to be free. They kill to keep from being killed and in following orders sent down through the ranks of the people that YOU voted into office. Most of them, want peace as badly as you do but know it's just not possible in some instances. You know, in many of the countries our brave soldiers fight in, the people there are required to serve two years in the military before they can attend college. You should all have to do that as well and then perhaps you would have a greater appreciation for our brave soldiers, their families, and all that they give up so that you can mouth off rather than support them. Some of your comments lead me to believe you would have joined in spitting on them like when they came back from Vietnam, and you should be ashamed of yourselves! I'm glad they fight for me, and when you're lack of support has chased them all away and you have to deal with IED's on your streets, you may change some of your opinions. Thank you to those who serve, and to those willing to try anything to help our brave men and women in uniform! Those that don't support them, should perhaps be sent to live in one of these countries...you go youself and research for paths to peace and then see how your opinions have changed.
I second that motion SupportingTroops.
People who are looking at the ‘down side’ of this or are making it about war or politics are missing the point. When someone is in terrible physical pain, it doesn’t matter what failing of our society put them there, doctors should be coming up with ways to ease that pain and help a person recover. If a video game can do that, fantastic. Injured veterans, or anyone – deserve help, not people spouting useless rhetoric. If more effort was put into helping to heal and less effort into trying to turn everyone into the perfect size and shape, the world would be a much better place.
As a chronic pain sufferer, I have been put on just about every form of narcotic available, to try and control my pain enough to just try and exist. Nothing can take the pain away completely. As you can imagine, my life is nothing close to normal and hasn't been for nearly 20 years.
I have always been very concerned about the addictive nature of the medication I take, not to mention the damage they do over time. I have spent years fighting with doctors to try and find some alternative to narcotics and, several years ago, on my own, I discovered video games help.
When I play, I am able to redirect my attention away from my pain and focus on the game instead. It doesn't take the pain away, it's still there but, my mind isn't dwelling on it. It helps enough that I can at least bear it to the point that I have weaned myself off of some pretty heavy duty medications, much to the surprise of my doctors.
I won't say it was easy, far from it, but nothing is easy when every breath you take, every movement, the weight of blankets, touch of clothing or even the pressure of water from a shower causes pain.
However, it is possible to focus on something enough to guide your mind away from some of the pain. Even though it sounds silly,video games CAN help treat pain.
TOHYI-Really? That is what you think of your Air Force. Idiot! I work for the Air Force. They get deployed and serve in combat zones too! It's HARDER to go to school for Air Force than the other branches. They don't keep them in long enough to earn what they need. So not only have they served their country as well, now they have to find their way on the their own once they are forced to separate.
Brennerst1- What the hell are you doing to promote peace ? I bet all you do is sit on the internet and bitch about war.
Thank you to all of our brave men and women who serve, and to those that are thinking outside the box to find anyway possible to help them recover and in some cases just survive. As the spouse of a decorated war veteran who suffers daily, I have a message for the nay-sayers, especially brennerst1: In some countries, all men and women are forced to serve in their military for two years before they can go on to college. YOU should also have to do that, and maybe while you're over there you can figure out what the rest of us have been trying to all along...how to make peace. The people we fight have a blind rageful hate of us and all that we stand for, and were it not for our brave souls engaging in battle, you would have to watch for IEDs on your residential streets you fools! They don't 'wilfully' engage in battle, they follow the orders sent down from the powers that YOU vote into office and fight to keep the destruction away from the rest of us. They are why you have the freedom to run your mouth so. I am just sick by your comments. You should be ashamed of yourself, and perhaps you should find another country to live in if you can't love the men and women that fight for you regardless of your hurtful treatment.
Go get 'em TOHYI,
Anyone who has every worked in the aerospace industry knows that the majority of technological breakthroughs have come from the military (think anti-lock breaks) then to the commercial world (think anti-skid braking on commercial jets) and then down to the consumer (anti-lock braking systems in our cars). Oh, another idea: TRAUMA and TRIAGE - came directly out of WWII as did some of basics of today's open-heart surgeries. I'm not saying we should engage in wars to generate ideas. However, when good people are willing to stand up for what they believe and for what OTHERS don't even appreciate, I would suggest that people speak very cautiously and make sure they check the facts before unleashing their rhetoric.
This is good news. Narcotics are so addicting. I don't think, however, that snowworld will completely replace them. Coming out of surgery for instance when a patient would not be able to focus on the game would still require some traditional painkillers.
Sadly, Ms. Tsukino/Marshall would be a bit smarter than you when it comes to knowing the truth about the topic, DancerTiffy. The pro-marijuana people are just as guilty of suppression of other, non-addicting, fully legal, and FAR better performing synthetic AND natural cures for ailments, pains, aches, diseases, disorders, syndromes, viruses, and other things as Big Pharma is and you had better know it, too.
Fibromyalgia pain is akin to chemo pain in cancer treatments. Surgical pain does not compare; it is nothing if a person endures chronic pain. Narcotics have side effects which usually render the patient with more conditions than he/she expected. Chronic pain does not come in waves - it is a constant part of your body and eventually defines who you are if you do not control it. Any diversion which requires focus works! To go from wishing you were dead to feeling alive is something those who suffer from chronic pain(this does not mean uncomfortable - it means p-a-i-n) wish for and the answer is free! It just takes desire and effort!
for those who oppose war or military in any sense . . . who do you think developed the computer programming you are so readily taking advantage of RIGHT NOW.....the military dumb arse!!!! the simple use of a video game to avert grueling pain-----genius...new twist to non narcotic pain management----our health industry should pay attention to this!!!!
I don't think that game play would replace traditional medicine but hand in hand...
if you ever get a chance try blue world for wii - turn the music portion down but keep ambient music...notice your state of mind, your breathing pattern? (Or even try Myst for PC)
I sure did and I kinda want to run with that strain of thought and this only reinforcement...
This technology was developed at the University of Washington over 8 years ago. It had nothing to do with the decisions made to go fight in Afghanistan or Iraq, and it was not funded by the military.
It was done because of the burn center at one of the UW hospitals, and the fact that they were looking for a way to ease the pain and sheer agony of burn care for their pediatric patients. The fact that it can be used to help even ONE person injured in combat makes it an awesome tool.