---
title: Can Electronic Gaming Help Reduce Chronic Pain?
description: Can electronic gaming help with chronic pain? Byron Werbeloff explores distraction, immersion and gaming as a potential tool within chronic pain management.
image: https://www.centredcounselling.co.za/hubfs/Centred_Counselling_Electronic_Gaming_Chronic_Pain_under_100kb.webp
---
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[Chronic Pain](https://www.centredcounselling.co.za/centred-counselling-blog/tag/chronic-pain)
# Can Electronic Gaming Help Reduce Chronic Pain?
Byron Werbeloff
Author
Oct 4, 2026, 5:26:32 AM
# Can Electronic Gaming Help Reduce Chronic Pain?
*From the Counsellor’s Chair*
Chronic pain can be difficult to manage because it is not simply a physical experience. Pain affects attention, mood, concentration, sleep and quality of life. For some people, even when medication or other medical interventions are being used, the pain can remain difficult to control.
This was the starting point for a research proposal I developed during my Honours studies: **“The impact of electronic gaming applications on chronic pain in South African adults.”**
## Why gaming?
One of the theories explored in the research proposal was distraction. When we become deeply engaged in an activity, our attention is directed away from other stimuli. Pain, meanwhile, requires the brain to process signals coming from the body.
Electronic games can demand sustained attention, rapid reactions and problem-solving. The proposal explored the possibility that this cognitive engagement could compete with the brain’s processing of pain signals and temporarily reduce the intensity of the pain experience.
There is also an important distinction between distraction and immersion. The proposal suggested that a person does not necessarily need expensive virtual-reality equipment to become immersed. An ordinary game can potentially be highly absorbing if it captures the person’s interests and requires enough concentration.
## What would the research have tested?
The proposed study was designed around 200 South African adults experiencing chronic pain associated with physical trauma or surgical complications. Participants would be randomly allocated to four groups using a Solomon Four-group experimental design.
The experimental groups would use an electronic gaming application for 20 minutes, while control groups would not receive the gaming intervention. Pain intensity would be measured using a standardised 1–10 numerical pain-rating scale before and/or after the intervention, depending on group allocation.
The proposed analysis would then compare changes in pain scores between the intervention and control groups using quantitative statistical analysis.
## What could this mean for chronic pain management?
The important point is that gaming was not proposed as a cure for chronic pain. Rather, the research was interested in whether it could become another tool within a broader pain-management approach.
If an inexpensive, readily available activity could provide even temporary relief during a pain flare-up, it could potentially give people another strategy to use alongside appropriate medical and psychological treatment.
The proposal anticipated that successful immersion in an electronic game could produce a temporary reduction in pain through distraction and cognitive engagement. However, this was an expected research outcome, not a demonstrated result of the proposed study.
## The bigger idea
Living with chronic pain often means having to build a toolbox of coping strategies, rather than relying on one intervention.
Sometimes that toolbox includes medication, physiotherapy, medical procedures and psychological support. It can also include surprisingly simple activities that help redirect attention and restore a sense of control.
My research proposal explored whether electronic gaming could be one of those tools—particularly because it is potentially accessible, inexpensive and does not require medication.
**The goal isn’t to ignore pain. It’s to find more ways of managing it.**
*This article is based on my 2022 research proposal and describes the proposed research methodology and expected outcomes. It should not be interpreted as evidence that electronic gaming has been proven to treat chronic pain.*
**Tagged with:** [Chronic Pain](https://www.centredcounselling.co.za/centred-counselling-blog/tag/chronic-pain)
#### Byron Werbeloff
KEEP READING
## Related Articles
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Oct 4, 2026, 5:44:27 AM Byron Werbeloff
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[](https://www.centredcounselling.co.za/centred-counselling-blog/chronic-illness-pain-management)
Oct 2, 2026, 2:04:33 AM Byron Werbeloff
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CHRONIC ILLNESS & PAIN MANAGEMENT
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Jun 29, 2026, 2:22:11 AM Byron Werbeloff
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