CClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT04781465RIVAGEUpdated Apr 27, 2023

Feasibility Study on an Immersive Virtual Reality Tool in the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain

An interventional study of Immersive Virtual Reality in Chronic Low-back Pain, sponsored by Fondation Hôpital Saint-Joseph. Status unknown at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 60 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-04-27.

Sponsored by Fondation Hôpital Saint-Joseph · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Apr 2023), so the status shown — last known as Active, not recruiting — may be out of date.

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 1 year 1 month after the study started (first participant enrolled Jan 2020, registered Mar 2021).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
24
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 60 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Chronic low back pain is a major public health problem today, because of its prevalence and its socio-professional impact. Multiple drug or non-drug treatments exist but the pain chronicization mechanism makes the management of chronic low back pain patients difficult. Stress rehabilitation programs in specialized structures have been set up to try to improve the outcome of these patients. Likewise, home exercise is recommended. However, adherence to these exercises is generally poor. Recently, there has been a growing interest in the use of new technologies, based on the use of digital tools, in the management of pain. Thus, in patients with chronic low back pain, the attractiveness of the proposed exercise programs with new technologies, the possibility of progression in the same exercise and the possibility of customizing these exercises have been reported as being able to meet the expectations of patients. for the purpose of rehabilitation. In virtual reality, users interact in an environment simulated by a 3-dimensional computer. This technology uses multisensory resources allowing the user to feel totally immersed in the virtual environment. Virtual reality has shown a benefit in the management of pain in several indications.

In low back pain patients, pain avoidance mechanisms are put in place very early due to fear of situations or movements that may reproduce or intensify the pain. Thus, for fear of pain, individuals avoid certain movements, in particular lumbar flexion movements. This avoidance of the lumbar flexion movement actually worsens the pain phenomenon because of the musculoskeletal changes associated with it. Therefore, one of the therapeutic areas for the management of chronic low back pain would be to improve lumbar flexion capacities.

Read the detailed description

Thomas JS et al evaluated the benefits of a game of virtual reality baseball on improving lumbar flexion in a randomized study (virtual reality versus control). After 3 virtual reality sessions, the 2 groups were compared, there was no difference in the improvement in lumbar flexion or in the improvement in pain, probably due to the low number of sessions offered (only 3 ). Nevertheless, the harmlessness, feasibility and safety of the game were proven here. In addition, the perception of the game was positive by the participants and there was no aggravation of pain or side effects of virtual reality.

On a larger scale and more recently, France CR and Thomas JS have shown in a randomized study of 230 patients the value of an immersive virtual reality game based on the progression of lumbar flexion compared to another game that does not improve this parameter. This was a virtual reality-based rehabilitation program, carried out over 18 weeks with 3 then 2 then 1 session (s) per week; the primary endpoint was assessment of pain and disability one week after the program. There was a sharper decrease in pain and disability with play that specifically worked lumbar flexion. The progression of lumbar flexion was correlated with the decrease in pain and disability. The authors thus showed that an immersive virtual reality game combining: a way to distract the patient's attention, a target to be reached, and a progression of the lumbar flexion exercise in the game would improve pain and pain. handicap of chronic low back pain.

Virtual reality is a distraction technique, which combines visual and auditory, allowing immersion in a virtual world through a headset that transcribes a three-dimensional image. The diversion of attention by the use of virtual reality allows the patient to immerse himself in a fictitious environment thanks to a mask on the eyes that inhibits the vision of the outside world and a hearing headset reducing external sounds and reinforcing the mechanism of 'immersion. Our hypothesis is that the use of an immersive virtual reality tool would improve the rehabilitation care and the future of chronic low back pain patients, via this immersion capacity.

02

Conditions studied

  • Chronic Low-back Pain

Keywords

  • Immersive Virtual Reality
03

In context

Back Pain

2,373 studies on the registry are indexed under Back Pain; 284 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 24 is below the median of 60 across 1,941 interventional studies indexed under Back Pain.

Browse Back Pain studies →

Lead sponsor

Fondation Hôpital Saint-Joseph is the lead sponsor of 335 studies on the registry; 48 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 60 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Man or woman whose age ≥ 18 years and \<60 years
  • French-speaking patient
  • Affiliated with social security or, failing that, with another health insurance system.
  • Non-specific low back pain +/- radiculalgia, mechanical, evolving for at least 3 months
  • Patient able to understand and respond to simple instructions
  • Numerical assessment scale for lumbar pain greater than or equal to 4/10
  • Patient having given free, informed and express consent.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant or breastfeeding woman
  • Patients with nausea, vomiting, dizziness
  • Visual disturbance or hearing impairment, vestibular disorder or other disorder which, according to the investigator, makes it impossible to use a virtual reality mask or headset
  • Concomitant monitoring of another rehabilitation process (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, osteopathy, or other)
  • Patients with a history of neurological disorders such as epilepsy
  • Major cervical or lumbar osteoarthritis or severe scoliosis making it impossible to mobilize the spinal segment concerned
  • Biological inflammatory syndrome or inflammatory nature of pain
  • Fibromyalgia / chronic diffuse pain syndrome
  • Psychiatric pathology, except depression if the disease is controlled
  • Symptomatic back pain due to neoplasia / infection / underlying vertebral fracture
  • Recent spine surgery \<6 months
  • Active neoplasia
  • Refusal to follow the entire rehabilitation program
  • Geographical distance not allowing travel to a rehabilitation center
  • Spinal infiltration less than 1 month old
  • Patient under guardianship or curatorship
  • Patient deprived of liberty
  • Patient under legal protection.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
24 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Immersive Virtual Reality

    The patients are divided into groups of 3. Each group of patients will attend 2 days of care per week (for 4 weeks) Group N ° 1: Monday and Thursday. Group N ° 2: Tuesday and Friday. At each visit, the patient will participate in: \[a "Kinesitherapy" treatment and a "Virtual Immersion" treatment\] + \[a "Balneotherapy treatment or an" Adapted Physical Activity treatment). Each treatment lasts 1 hour 10 minutes. Each patient will therefore come to the center 8 times over 1 month, or 4 hours 40 minutes a week, not counting virtual reality. If the groups are not full or according to the advice of the healthcare team, only one group will be selected (always 3 patients) and will attend 3 days per week.

    Device: Immersive Virtual Reality

Interventions

  • DeviceImmersive Virtual Reality

    Dedicated virtual reality sessions. * Duration 20 minutes per session. * The virtual reality session will be supervised by a health professional trained in this tool after 1.5 hours of training by the team responsible for the equipment (use of the equipment, and use of the 20 minutes of VR). This supervising professional may be a doctor, an occupational therapist, a caregiver or any other health professional trained in the tool under this protocol. * The exercises proposed will be standardized virtual reality exercises with the same exercises for all, but adapted to the level and abilities of each patient.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. To assess attendance of a rehabilitation program for chronic low back pain patients integrating immersive virtual reality sessions

    Patient attendance to an immersive virtual reality program

    Time frame: Week 4

  2. To assess adherence of a rehabilitation program for chronic low back pain patients integrating immersive virtual reality sessions

    Patient adherence to an immersive virtual reality program

    Time frame: Week 4

Secondary outcomes

  1. To evaluate patient satisfaction with the progress of the program

    Satisfaction assessed by questionnaire

    Time frame: Week 4

  2. To evaluate stakeholder satisfaction with the progress of the program

    Satisfaction assessed by questionnaire

    Time frame: Week 4

  3. Evaluate the improvement in pain

    Numerical pain rating scale (0 : no pain / 10 : very strong pain)

    Time frame: Day 1

  4. Evaluate the improvement in pain

    Numerical pain rating scale (0 : no pain / 10 : very strong pain)

    Time frame: Week 4

  5. Evaluate the overall improvement of the patient

    Overall assessment scale for the pathology by the patient (0 : very unhappy -10 : very satisfied)

    Time frame: Day 1

  6. Evaluate the overall improvement of the patient

    Overall assessment scale for the pathology by the patient (0 : very unhappy -10 : very satisfied)

    Time frame: Week 4

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint-Joseph
    Paris, Ile De France 75014, France
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 27, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04781465
Lead sponsor
Fondation Hôpital Saint-Joseph
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Mar 4, 2021
Start date
Jan 7, 2020
Primary completion
Sep 6, 2021
Completion
Dec 31, 2023 (estimated)
Last update
Apr 27, 2023

Study contacts

Agnès PORTIER
principal investigator · Fondation Hôpital Saint-Joseph

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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