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Active, not recruitingNCT07602816core stabilityUpdated Jun 10, 2026

Comparative Effect of Virtual Reality and Core Stability Exercises in Patients With Non-specific Chronic Low Back Pain

An interventional study of group A and Group B in Non Specific Low Back Pain, sponsored by Emad Eldin Mohamed. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in Egypt. Open to participants aged 20 Years to 45 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-10.

Sponsored by Emad Eldin Mohamed · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
66
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
20 Years to 45 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

Non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) is a prevalent musculoskeletal disorder. (Maher et al., 2017). Globally, 60%-80% of adults' experience low back pain, with 10% developing chronic forms, of which 85% are classified as chronic nonspecific low back pain without a clear etiology. (Alsufiany et al.,2020)..Despite various treatment modalities, a significant number of individuals continue to experience pain, functional limitations, and psychological distress such as kinesiophobia.

Read the detailed description

Non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) is a prevalent musculoskeletal disorder. (Maher et al., 2017). Globally, 60%-80% of adults' experience low back pain, with 10% developing chronic forms, of which 85% are classified as chronic nonspecific low back pain without a clear etiology. (Alsufiany et al.,2020)..Despite various treatment modalities, a significant number of individuals continue to experience pain, functional limitations, and psychological distress such as kinesiophobia.

Various strategies are employed to help improve range of motion, alleviate pain, and enhance the overall quality of life for individuals dealing with lower back pain (LBP). These strategies encompass therapeutic exercises, manual therapy techniques, educating patients on lifestyle modifications, managing medications, and utilizing modalities like cryotherapy, heat therapy, ultrasound, and electrical stimulation. (Rulewska et al., 2025). So, Physical therapies and exercises, psychological and social support, reducing strain during physical work, and lifestyle changes are commonly practiced to manage non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP). (Kumari et al., 2024)

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Conditions studied

  • Non Specific Low Back Pain

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Keywords

  • back pain
  • core stability exercise
  • 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 66 is close to the median of 60 across 1,941 interventional studies indexed under Back Pain.

Browse Back Pain studies →

Lead sponsor

Emad Eldin Mohamed is the lead sponsor of 2 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

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

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
20 Years to 45 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Sixty-six patients with non-specific low back pain diagnosed by physician will be selected for the study from the outpatient clinic of faculty of physical therapy, October 6 university.
  2. Patients of both sex with age range from 20-45 years.
  3. Pain lasting for more than 12 weeks.
  4. Pain intensity score 2/10 or more on Visual Analog Scale (VAS).
  5. BMI ranged between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m2.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Visual or cognitive impairments affecting VR participation.
  2. Pregnancy.
  3. specific LBP (Radiculopathy, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, or recent spinal surgery.)
  4. neurological disorders,
  5. psychiatric disorders,
  6. physiotherapy during the last 6 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

-

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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
66 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    group A: traditional physiotherapy

    hot back, TENS, stretching exercise for Hamstring, Hip flexors, Back extensors and strengthening ex for back extensors and abdominal muscles each exercise.

    Other: group A

  • Experimental
    group B: receive traditional physiotherapy plus virtual reality.

    Participants will engage in VR rehabilitation sessions, 3 sessions per week for 4 weeks using interactive balance and movement-based VR programs, the patient will performe the exercises using VR video gaming, two games were selected, one for each exercise set: Epic roller coaster and Fit x. In addition to being enjoyable for most of the participants, both games require frequent head motions and quick direction changes which facilitate activation of the core muscles. (Abdelraoufet al., 2020)

    Other: Group B

  • Experimental
    group C: receive traditional physiotherapy plus core stability exercise.

    Traditional core exercises focused on deep trunk muscles, 3 sessions per week for 4 weeks, under therapist supervision. It includes both isotonic and isometric core ex, During the ISOM exercises, patients were instructed to hold the contraction for 8 to 15 seconds, followed by a 5-second rest between each of the 4 sets, The ISOT exercises were performed in 4 sets, with 6 to 12 repetitions in each set. Additionally, a 1-minute rest was applied between each movement. (Khaled et al., 2024).

    Other: Group C

Interventions

  • Othergroup A

    hot back, TENS, stretching exercise for Hamstring, Hip flexors, Back extensors and strengthening ex for back extensors and abdominal muscles each exercise.

  • OtherGroup B

    Participants will engage in VR rehabilitation sessions using interactive balance and movement-based VR programs using meta quest with android operating system and camera as a sensor technology, it includes VR headset,2 touch controllers, 2 AA batteries, silicone cover, glasses spacer, charging cable , power adapter

  • OtherGroup C

    Traditional core exercises focused on deep trunk muscles, 3 sessions per week for 4 weeks, under therapist supervision. It includes both isotonic and isometric core ex, During the ISOM exercises, patients were instructed to hold the contraction for 8 to 15 seconds, followed by a 5-second rest between each of the 4 sets, The ISOT exercises were performed in 4 sets, with 6 to 12 repetitions in each set. Additionally, a 1-minute rest was applied between each movement.

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Oswestry Disability Index (ODI)

    The questionnaire examines the level of disability in 10 everyday activities of daily living. Each item consists of 6 statements which are scored from 0 to 5. With 0 indicating the least disability and 5 the greatest then the total score is calculated as a percentage, with 0% indicating no disability and 100% indicating the highest level of disability, disability scores ranging from 0-19% indicate minimal disability, 20-39% indicate moderate disability,40-59% indicate severe disability, 60-79% indicate crippling disability, and scores ranging from 80-100% indicate people who are confined to bed.

    Time frame: 4 weeks

  2. visual analogue scale (VAS)

    Pain intensity Level will be measured using the VAS that consists of a 10-cm straight line with endpoints defining pain intensity. All patients will be asked to mark their pain level that corresponds to their pain intensity on the line between "0", representing "no pain", and "10", representing "the worst pain imaginable". The distance between "0" and the mark made by the patients was measured using a ruler; a higher score indicates greater pain intensity.

    Time frame: 4 weeks

  3. Star excursion balance test (SEBT)

    Leg length discrepancy will be measured before applying the (SEBT) for normalization of test results, SEBT will be accomplished while participants are standing on the dominant leg, and participants will be asked to reach as far as they could along a grid in the anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral directions with the tip of the great toe of the non-stance limb. Participant's hands held at the iliac crest during the test, If the individual touches heavily or comes to rest at the touch-down point, has to make contact with the ground with the reaching foot to maintain balance, or lifts or shifts any part of the foot of the stance limb during the trial, the trial is not considered complete.

    Time frame: 4 weeks

  4. BROM

    The AROM was determined by BROM and done by calculating the difference between the angle recorded in the starting position and the angle recorded at the end position. (Suriyaamarit et al., 2024) First step in measuring ROM is finding the reference points, which consisted of the base of the sacrum and the spinous process of thoracic spine level 12. The base of the sacrum was located by drawing a line between the posterior superior iliac spine (PSIS) (the same level as the S2 spinous process) and counting up from the base of the sacrum. The spinous process of thoracic spine level 12 was located by counting up six levels from the 1st reference point. These two references were used to place the flexion/extension unit and the BROM R/L unit.

    Time frame: 4 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK)

    is a self-report questionnaire, in its original form, the TSK is a 17 item assessment checklist. It uses a 4-point Likert scale (Strongly Disagree-Disagree-Agree-Strongly Agree) with statements that have been later linked to the model of fear-avoidance, fear of work-related activities, fear of movement, and fear of re-injury. The total score ranges from 17 to 68, with higher scores indicating greater levels of kinesiophobia. (Lundberg et al., 2011) Scores above 37 suggest the presence of clinically significant kinesiophobia, while scores below 37 are considered to be within the normal range.

    Time frame: 4 weeks

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Study locations

1 site
  • Rania Reda
    Giza, Giza Governorate 6892, Egypt
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References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 10, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07602816
Lead sponsor
Emad Eldin Mohamed
Collaborators
October 6 University
Responsible party
Emad Eldin Mohamed (Associate professor, Middle East University) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
May 22, 2026
Start date
May 25, 2026
Primary completion
Oct 30, 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Nov 25, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Jun 10, 2026

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Jun 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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