Virtual Reality in Chronic Neck Pain

Koç University

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Neck Pain

Treatments: Other: Experimental: VR and exercise; Other: Sham Comparator: exercise

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06549166

2023.311.IRB1.107

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of virtual reality, which encourages active neck movements, in individuals with chronic neck pain, with the control group receiving only neck exercises. Participants will be randomly divided into two groups; Half of them will be given only a neck exercises program, and the other half will be given neck exercises and virtual reality.

Full description

Individuals with chronic neck pain tend to have low levels of endurance in deep neck flexor muscles. Conservative treatments for neck pain, including posture education, strengthening, range of motion, motor control, flexibility, and proprioceptive training, are recommended in clinical guidelines. Virtual reality has been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of various issues related to pain in previous systematic reviews. Distracting attention is one of the mechanisms explaining the impact of virtual reality on pain. It is believed that virtual reality reduces pain perception by influencing pain pathways.

Enrollment: 46 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 45 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Ages 18 to 45
• Having a history of non-traumatic neck pain persisting for more than three months
• Having a Neck Disability Index score greater than 5 points
• Not having participated in a physiotherapy program for at least 3 months
• Being able to read and write in Turkish to understand, interpret, and respond to the questionnaires

Exclusion criteria

• Having a surgical history in the neck region
• Having cervical spine flexion, extension, and rotation range of motion <10 degrees
• Having a history of rheumatologic, vestibular, neurological, or cardiopulmonary diseases
• Vertigo associated with neck pain
• Osteoporosis, vertebral fractures,spinal tumors
• Presence of radiculopathy or myelopathy
• Traumatic spinal cord injury
• Neck pain associated with progressive neurological deficits or loss of strength

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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46 participants in 2 patient groups

VR and exercise

Experimental group

Description:

virtual reality and neck exercises

Treatment:

Other: Experimental: VR and exercise

exercise

Sham Comparator group

Description:

only neck exercise

Treatment:

Other: Sham Comparator: exercise