Effectiveness of virtual-walking intervention combined with exercise on improving pain and function in incomplete spinal cord injury: a feasibility study.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to assess the feasibility of a full-scale RCT to evaluate the beneficial effects of Virtual Walking combined with therapeutic exercise on neuropathic pain and functionality in people with incomplete spinal cord injury.
Results Summary
The study found high participant compliance (80%+ session completion), no dropouts, and no serious adverse events. Preliminary results suggest the experimental intervention (Virtual Walking plus therapeutic exercise) may be effective for improving pain and functionality.
Population
People with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury.
Effective Dosage
3 sessions per week for 6 weeks.
Duration
6 weeks.
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Virtual Walking (VW)-based Experimental intervention (EI) plus therapeutic exercise program (TE) | decrease | pain and functionality | people with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) | - | could have a beneficial impact | #1 |
Virtual Walking (VW)-based Experimental intervention (EI) plus therapeutic exercise program (TE) | neutral | - | - | - | is effective | #2 |
STUDY DESIGN: A feasibility pilot study. OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility a full-scale Randomized Controlled Trial aimed at assessing the beneficial effect of a Virtual Walking (VW)-based (Experimental intervention (EI)) on neuropathic pain and functionality in people with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: A hospital service (Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe) and disability associations (TetraSport, CODIFIVA and ASPAYM). METHODS: Twelve people with chronic incomplete SCI were randomized to EI (VW plus therapeutic exercise program (TE)) -or Control Intervention (CI (placebo VW and TE)) groups. A six-week intervention (3 sessions/week) was carried out. To assess feasibility, the following outcomes were used: level of restriction and validity of inclusion and exclusion criteria, participants' compliance, accessibility and acceptability of the intervention for participants, adequate pre-training time of physiotherapists. To explore therapy effectiveness, pain severity, and interference, mean and maximum isometric strength, walking speed, and walking ability were assessed before (Time 1, T1) and after (Time 2, T2) the intervention. RESULTS: 20% of the participants initially recruited did not meet inclusion criteria. In addition, all participants completed at least 80% of the intervention sessions and none of the participants dropped out before T2. No serious adverse event was found. Moreover, 91.67% of participants were willing to perform the intervention again and all therapists involved were adequately pre-trained. Finally, our preliminary results suggest that the proposed EI is effective. CONCLUSION: A full-scale RCT is feasible and preliminary results suggest that VW with TE could have a beneficial impact on pain and functionality in this population.