NCT06794242

Body Representation and Neuropathic Pain in Spinal Cord Injury

Investigating the Link Between Body Representation and Neuropathic Pain in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 80 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Hospices Civils de Lyon · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Chronic pain is one of the main complications of spinal cord injury, has a very negative impact on quality of life, and persists over time despite the use of analgesic treatments. Several types of pain are possible in patients with spinal cord injury, and neuropathic pain (pain caused by damage to the spinal cord, in this case) is one of the most difficult to treat, even with medication. Following an injury to the spinal cord, it is possible for the representation of the body to change as a result of sensorimotor deficits, prolonged changes in body posture and altered mobility. At present, the causes of chronic pain after spinal cord injury remain poorly understood and debated, but one hypothesis suggests that changes in body representation may play a key role in the development or worsening of neuropathic pain. To test this hypothesis, we will assess the perception of spinal cord injured patients (and a group of controls) of the size of their legs using a virtual reality device. This measurement will enable us to examine whether under- or over-estimation of leg length correlates with the presence of neuropathic pain in patients. Chronic pain in people with spinal cord injury is associated with an increased risk of stress, depression and anxiety, and understanding and treating neuropathic pain in people with spinal cord injury is a major issue in their management.

Conditions

• Spinal Cord Injury

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Body representation	All the participants (controls and patients) in the study will follow the same experimental procedure, which consists of a single virtual reality session involving the estimation of leg length and an object.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-04-01
• Primary completion: 2027-05-01
• Completion: 2027-05-01
• First posted: 2025-01-27
• Last updated: 2025-01-27

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: France