Can games help with pain?

The surprising part: playing, not just watching

In a 2021 randomized trial, 90 children aged 6–17 received burn dressing care with an interactive smartphone VR game, passive VR, or standard distraction. Average overall pain was 24.9 out of 100 in the active group versus 47.1 with standard care. Worst-pain ratings were also lower with active VR than with either comparison. Those are group averages, not a promised reduction for an individual child.[1]

The researchers describe distraction as a possible explanation: an absorbing activity draws attention during the procedure. Pain ratings do not tell us that an injury healed faster, and the trial did not establish that VR can replace prescribed analgesia.[1]

Does it work beyond one clinic visit?

A separate 2022 randomized feasibility study recruited 35 children aged 5–17 needing repeated dressing changes at home; 24 completed all study measures. Families used either the study’s interactive VR game or usual home distractions for up to a week. The VR group had lower child-reported overall pain across dressing changes. The authors did not run significance tests because of the small feasibility sample. It is encouraging, but a small feasibility study with incomplete follow-up cannot settle how well this will work across families.[2]

Both studies came from the same research programme and focused on burn dressings. They do not establish a benefit for every painful condition or every child. The home trial also evaluated a supplied system within a care protocol, rather than asking families to pick any entertainment game.[2]

What a parent can ask the care team

These are discussion prompts from our editorial team, not instructions for treating pain yourself. Before buying equipment for a procedure, ask the clinicians who are responsible for your child’s care:

• Do you offer an appropriate distraction option for this procedure and my child’s age?
• Would a headset interfere with treatment, communication or monitoring? What could we use instead?
• How would this fit alongside the pain relief you already recommend?
• Who would help us set it up, and what should we do if my child dislikes it or feels uncomfortable?

A useful result with a narrow meaning

When a headline says “games reduce pain”, look for the missing details: which game, which procedure, which comparison and which outcome? A study about a purpose-built VR tool is not a reason to assign medical benefits to games in our catalogue. Our game recommendations and meaningfulness scores are editorial assessments.