Virtual Walking Therapy for Neuropathic Pain Following Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury
Texas A&M University
Summary
The purpose of this study is to determine if playing a virtual reality walking game can help improve neuropathic pain in adults with incomplete spinal cord injury.
Description
Many people with SCI experience neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain is often described as sharp, burning, or electric. 'Traditional' treatments often do not do a good job of reducing neuropathic pain. Therefore, it is important to see if 'non-traditional' treatments might work. Scientists think that neuropathic pain occurs in SCI because the sensations coming from the eyes and up the spinal cord to the brain do not match what the brain thinks it told the body to do. This 'mismatch' may result in changes in the brain that make neuropathic pain possible. Virtual reality walking may potentially re…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: The study will recruit individuals with incomplete injury (American Spinal Injury Association \[ASIA\] classification B, C, or D) with lumbar, paraplegic, or low tetraplegic (C5-C7) injury. Additional criteria will include: 1. Must have persistent NP symptoms that are of daily severity of at least 4/10 for 3 or more months 2. Must endorse more than 2 items on a 7-item Spinal Cord Injury Pain Instrument, SCIPI 3. Must be 18 years of age or older 4. Must be more than one and a half years post-injury to begin study (can be screened at an earlier time for eligibility) 5. Must…
Interventions
- OtherVR Game 1
Individuals playing VR game 1 will wear a head-mounted display to allow them to visualize virtual legs in the virtual environment. When wearing the display, individuals will see the legs and arms of their virtual avatar from a first-person perspective. Individuals will engage in virtual reality sessions in their home twice daily over the course of 10 days in a two-week period. Each daily session will take approximately 30 minutes, with 5-10 minutes dedicated to the virtual walking experience. Additionally, each daily session will be scheduled a minimum of 4 hours apart
- OtherVR Game 2
Individuals playing VR game 2 will wear a head-mounted display to allow them to visualize virtual legs in the virtual environment. When wearing the display, individuals will see the legs and arms of their virtual avatar from a first-person perspective. Individuals will engage in virtual reality sessions in their home twice daily over the course of 10 days in a two-week period. Each daily session will take approximately 30 minutes, with 5-10 minutes dedicated to the virtual walking experience. Additionally, each daily session will be scheduled a minimum of 4 hours apart.
Location
- Texas A&M UniversityCollege Station, Texas