I'm going to have to ponder on this one. Honestly the topic has the wheels in my head turning. Love it!! I will definitely repost when I can come up with something!

The only thing that comes to mind right away is this:

I have a very bad knee. I am in complete pain 24/7 with it and seem to always fight a battle with it. During play, my Dom often requires heels on me. Red is usually the color (random and irrelevant info lol). I find that the knee pain increases in heels. So, to distract myself from the pain, a chunk of rope is tied around one wrist and left there. I love how the rope feels on my skin. The length of the rope always differs depending on how much bondage is being applied. What I'm getting at is that during play, I will alter the position of the rope on my wrist. Sometimes I will tangle myself up in it if it happens to be a longer piece. I am capable of drowning out the pain with a simple pleasure. Now, the rope is not utilized every time. Mainly when heels are involved, but either way, it is a distraction. Please correct me if I'm missing the point of the question. This can be used in a pain vs pleasure, fun vs boring, or even sad vs happy scenario. Ultimately being a mind over matter situation. I will definitely put more thought into it though.