美国国家公共电台 NPR Got Pain? A Virtual Swim With Dolphins May Help Melt It Away

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

All right. Elsewhere in medical news - doctors and patients have been looking at ways to manage pain without relying so much on opioids. One strategy is called therapeutic¹ virtual reality. NPR's Allison Aubrey has the story of a man who eases his pain by taking a virtual dip with dolphins.

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ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE²: Imagine for a moment that you are transported to a beautiful, sunlit lagoon³. You're invited to dive in. That's what Tom Norris has done.

TOM NORRIS: The water's clear. I see the dolphins swim by, laughing as they are playing. And I get a really strong feeling of relaxation⁴ and peace.

AUBREY: He has not left his living room. But when he straps⁵ on a virtual reality headset, he's in an alternate universe.

NORRIS: I really feel like I'm there.

AUBREY: Norris is no stranger to pain. He's got chronic⁶ pain through his back and hips⁷ from injuries that go back years. Now, he says, his weekly swim with the dolphins takes just 10 minutes or so, but the benefits linger for days.

NORRIS: I relax. My attention's diverted. It makes the pain more manageable.

AUBREY: Norris is not alone. A new study documents that virtual reality really can help people with severe pain. Study author Brennan Spiegel of Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles explains he and his collaborators compared the effectiveness of VR with another kind of distraction⁸ technique - watching TV.

BRENNAN SPIEGEL: Virtual reality reduced pain by about three times as much as watching TV did.

AUBREY: Using a zero to 10 pain scale, the virtual reality led to a two-point drop compared to just a half point for TV. At the time of the study, all of the participants were in the hospital for various conditions - some had cancer pain, some had orthopedic pain. So VR can't take that pain away entirely⁹, but the evidence shows it does help.

SPIEGEL: It's not that it's cured the underlying¹⁰ disease. You know, it doesn't heal a fractured bone or cure cancer, but it changes the way we perceive the pain.

AUBREY: So researchers say virtual reality is one more tool that people in pain may want to try.

Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

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1 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 lagoon   

n.泻湖，咸水湖

参考例句：

• The lagoon was pullulated with tropical fish.那个咸水湖聚满了热带鱼。
• This area isolates a restricted lagoon environment.将这一地区隔离起来使形成一个封闭的泻湖环境。

4 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

5 straps   

n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
• The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。

6 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

7 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。