These days, the connection between exposure to nature and good health is so well-known that some doctors even prescribe outdoor outings for their patients.

Now, a study from a team of Austrian researchers finds that just looking at images of nature can lower pain.

Numerous studies have shown that exposure to nature is beneficial to humans and reduces pain. But the finding that virtual nature can offer pain relief is a new twist.

The team’s experiment used brain scans to monitor brain activity during painful experiences while study participants viewed three images.

Forty-nine participants were placed in a brain scanner and shown a natural lake with trees, an urban setting with buildings by the same lake and the interior of an office.

As they viewed the scenes, participants received brief electric shocks to their hands of varying intensity. They rated how each shock felt.

Participants reported less pain from the shocks as they gazed at the natural lake scene compared with the other two scenes.

Actual pain-related brain activity decreased when they saw images of nature, proving that the differences weren’t subjective.

None of this suggests you should toss everything in your medicine cabinet, although the researchers said nature’s pain-relieving effect was equivalent to about half that of painkillers.

The study may have particular value for hospitals and doctors’ offices, where nature scenes could be used in treatment rooms, perhaps blunting the effect of being pinched and prodded.

The next time your doctor tells you to “expect mild discomfort,” be sure she gives you a few seconds to grab your phone and search for “tranquil nature scenes” first.