NCT05838924

Changing Lower Back Pain Through Virtual Reality

Changing Lower Back Pain Through Virtual Reality: a Randomised Clinical Controlled Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 60 (actual)
• Sponsor: Cardenal Herrera University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 80 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The main objective of this randomized controlled trial is to investigate the efficacy of a 6-week therapeutic exercise program, performed with virtual reality (VR) manipulating visual proprioceptive information during all lumbar movements in the different therapeutic exercises (experimental group), on pain and disability, kinesiophobia, range of motion (ROM), catastrophizing, quality of life, and physical fitness in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain compared to the same therapeutic exercise program without VR (control group).

Detailed description

Chronic pain is considered an urgent global public health problem. One of the most prevalent chronic pain pathologies worldwide is low back pain (LBP). Kinesophobia (fear of movement) has been largely associated with pain intensity, disability, worse quality of life and chronification in LBP; while physical reconditioning has been proposed in clinical practice as a key element in the treatment of LBP.(20-22) However, the efficacy of physical reconditioning programs developed so far would require considerable improvement. The induction of illusions in virtual reality (VR) through visual cues could be a valid alternative to evoke motion illusions and be able to modify proprioceptive integration, acting on kinesiophobia, in turn. The main objective of this randomized controlled trial is to investigate the efficacy of a 6-week therapeutic exercise program, performed with VR manipulating visual proprioceptive information during all lumbar movements in the different therapeutic exercises (experimental group), on pain and disability, kinesiophobia, range of motion (ROM), catastrophizing, quality of life, and physical fitness in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain compared to the same therapeutic exercise program without VR (control group).

Conditions

• Low Back Pain

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	PHYSICAL ACTIVITY + VIRTUAL REALITY	The VR therapeutic exercise program will be implemented for 6 weeks at a frequency of 2 sessions per week with the aim of improving pain and disability, kinesiophobia, range of motion (ROM), catastrophizing, quality of life, and physical fitness. This group will perform the 8 VR exercises of "Back School" by manipulating visual proprioceptive information during all lumbar movements. They will be performed in 2 sets whose intensity and repetitions will be configured and individualized by a self-reported rating of perceived exertion (RPE) through the Borg 6-20 scale. The appropriate training intensity is established with an RPE score between 13 and 17; for this reason, the first 2 weeks will work at an RPE of 14, the 3rd and 4th weeks at an RPE of 15; and finally, the last 2 weeks will work at an RPE of 16. The first 3 weeks will work without additional load, and the last 3 weeks will work with weights, increasing their weekly load individually.
OTHER	PHYSICAL ACTIVITY	The 8 therapeutic exercise program will be implemented for 6 weeks at a frequency of 2 sessions per week with the aim of improving pain and disability, kinesiophobia, range of motion (ROM), catastrophizing, quality of life, and physical fitness. This group will perform the 8 exercises of "Back School" without VR. They will be performed in 2 sets whose intensity and repetitions will be configured and individualized by a self-reported rating of perceived exertion (RPE) through the Borg 6-20 scale. The appropriate training intensity is established with an RPE score between 13 and 17; for this reason, the first 2 weeks will work at an RPE of 14, the 3rd and 4th weeks at an RPE of 15; and finally, the last 2 weeks will work at an RPE of 16. The first 3 weeks will work without additional load, and the last 3 weeks will work with weights, increasing their weekly load individually.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-04-25
• Primary completion: 2023-12-01
• Completion: 2023-12-15
• First posted: 2023-05-03
• Last updated: 2025-02-12

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Spain