Virtual walking program to reduce chronic neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury
Virtual Walking With Habitual Feedback to Reduce Chronic Neuropathic Pain in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury
This project will test whether virtual walking from different visual perspectives can reduce long-lasting neuropathic pain and improve quality of life for adults living with chronic spinal cord injury.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 40 (estimated) |
| Ages | 18 Years to 75 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil Research network |
| Locations | 1 site (Nottwil, Canton of Lucerne) |
| Trial ID | NCT07165353 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
This single-center randomized interventional trial at the Schweizer Paraplegiker Zentrum in Nottwil will compare virtual walking delivered from different visual perspectives to a sham virtual walking condition in adults with chronic neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury. Participants aged 18–75 with traumatic or non‑traumatic SCI at least six months earlier and neuropathic pain of at least 4/10 will be randomized to receive virtual walking sessions or a sham intervention over a defined training period. Outcomes include changes in pain intensity and quality of life, and mechanistic measures such as quantitative sensory testing (QST) and contact heat-evoked potentials (CHEPs) to probe sensory and cortical changes. People who can walk more than five minutes without aids, have serious uncontrolled psychiatric conditions, or are pregnant will be excluded.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Ideal candidates are German-speaking adults (18–75) at least six months after traumatic or non‑traumatic SCI with clinician-diagnosed neuropathic pain of 4/10 or higher affecting the trunk or lower limbs.
Not a fit: Patients with predominantly nociceptive pain, very recent injuries (<6 months), the ability to walk more than five minutes without aids, serious uncontrolled psychiatric illness, or who are pregnant are unlikely to benefit or may be ineligible.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the intervention could offer a non-drug way to reduce neuropathic pain and improve daily functioning and quality of life for people with chronic SCI.
How similar studies have performed: Previous small trials and pilot studies of virtual reality, motor imagery, and visual feedback for neuropathic pain have shown promising but mixed results, so this approach has preliminary support but is not yet proven.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Sufficient knowledge of German language to understand the instructions, assessments and to fill in questionnaires. * Age ≥ 18y, ≤ 75y * Chronic traumatic or non-traumatic SCI (\>6 month after SCI) with an SCI severity grade AIS A, B, C or D * At or below level spinal cord injury neuropathic pain on trunk or lower extremities diagnosed by a neurologist following the ISCIP classification (Bryce et al., 2012) of at least 4/10 intensity on a NRS (Langford et al., 2023) * Ability to draw with a pen Exclusion Criteria: * \- Serious psychiatric disorders, which are accompanied by imminent or current acute harm to oneself or others, or which require inpatient psychiatric treatment for other reasons, or other indications of a foreseeable, seriously harmful effect of participation in the study based on the clinical impression from the psychological screening interview * Participants with a walking ability more than 5 minutes without walking aids * Pregnancy (anamnestic) in women of child-bearing age (18-49 years) * Known epilepsy * neurological disorders (multiple sclerosis, ALS, Guillan-Barré Syndrome, congenital disorders, polyneuropathy)
Where this trial is running
Nottwil, Canton of Lucerne
- Schweizer Paraplegiker Zentrum Nottwil — Nottwil, Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Gunther Landmann, KD Dr. med. — Schweizer Paraplegiker Zentrum Nottwil
- Study coordinator: Karina Ottiger, MAS
- Email: karina.ottiger@paraplegie.ch
- Phone: +41419394900
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.