NCT06710808

VIRTUAL WALKING AND TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION FOR CHRONIC NEUROPATHIC PAIN DUE TO SPINAL CORD INJURY

VIRTUAL WALKING AND TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION (TDCS) FOR CHRONIC NEUROPATHIC PAIN DUE TO SPINAL CORD INJURY (SCI): A FEASIBILITY STUDY

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 4 (actual)
• Sponsor: Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil · Network
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 75 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this feasibility study is to assess the feasibility of the combined treatment intervention "virtual walking (VW) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)" of neuropathic pain in patients with spinal cord injury. The main question aims to answer: • To assess the feasibility of combining VW and tDCS for longer-term use from the patients' point of view. Participants will: Receive a two week intervention in the Swiss Paraplegic Centre in Nottwil, where the participants undergo VW and tDCS for ten sessions, each lasting around 20 minutes. The participants keep a diary and a pain drawing of their symptoms and will fill out some questionnaires about their impression of feasibility, the pain intensity, chronicity, the impression of change, depression, anxiety, stress and adverse events. At the beginning and end of the study the participants will be interviewed about their expectations, hopes and the feasibility of the procedures from a participants point of view.

Conditions

• Spinal Cord Injury
• Chronic Neuropathic Pain

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Virtual walking and transcranial direct current stimulation	Participants will receive VW-therapy combined with tDCS. The intervention is adapted from Soler et al. 2010 and consists of 10 sessions over 2 weeks, each session lasting around 20 minutes. For the virtual walking the participant sits on a modified wheelchair, which is positioned at a distance of two meters from the screen. The setting provides an illusion of a third person perspective and the participant can see himself/herself walk through a forest ambience. The tDCS session is according the same protocol from Soler et al., 2010. Hereby, the device from Starstim, Neuroelectrics will be used, which is equipped with a neoprene cap containing electrodes. The anodes will be placed over C3 or C4 (EEG 10/20 system) to target the motor cortex (M1) contralateral to the painful side and the cathodes will be placed over the contralateral supraorbital area. Symmetric pain participants receive stimulation on the dominant hemisphere. The tDCS applies a constant current of 2 mA over 20 minutes.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-10-01
• Primary completion: 2025-04-01
• Completion: 2025-04-01
• First posted: 2024-11-29
• Last updated: 2025-11-20

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Switzerland