The application of eyeglass displays in changing the perception of pain

We have been examining the potential value of visual stimulation via the eyeglass displays in changing the perception of pain. In this randomized, controlled, cross-over study, 72 healthy university student volunteers were asked to wear a light-weighted eyeglass projecting a feeling of watching a fifty-two-inch television screen in a close distance while pain was produced by a modified tourniquet technique. There is a significant increase of pain threshold and pain tolerance with the effect of visual stimulation. These findings having implications of using visual stimulation as positive adjunct to other methods of pain relief and to different pain conditions in clinical areas. Copyright © 2002 IOS Press.