Overview
The purpose of this study is to determine if playing a virtual reality walking game can help improve neuropathic pain in adults with chronic spinal cord injury.
Description
Many people with SCI experience neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain is often described as sharp, burning, or electric. 'Traditional' treatments often do not do a good job at reducing neuropathic pain. Therefore, it is important to see if 'non-traditional' treatments might work. Scientists think that neuropathic pain occurs in SCI because the sensations coming from the eyes and up the spinal cord to the brain do not match what the brain thinks it told the body to do. This 'mis-match' may result in changes in the brain that make neuropathic pain possible. Virtual reality walking reduces this 'mis-match.' It does this by creating the 'illusion' that the person is walking. The brain then thinks it is telling the body to walk AND the information coming from the eyes matches its instructions. This 'matching' may reverse the brain changes that made neuropathic pain possible.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- The study will recruit individuals with complete and incomplete injury (American
Spinal Injury Association [ASIA] classification A, B, C, D) with lumbar, paraplegic,
or low tetraplegic (C5-C7) injury. Additional criterial will include:
- persistent NP symptoms that are of daily severity of at least 4/10 for 3 or more months
- endorsement of more than 2 items on a 7-item Spinal Cord Injury Pain Instrument, SCIPI
- age of 18 or older
- more than one-year post-injury
- neuropathic pain during the last 7 days
- ability to move elbows against gravity
- must have mobile connectivity with usable service)
- SCIPI and DN4 scores for neuropathic pain must be 2 or more
- must be stable on pain medication for 1 or more months
- must be cleared on the VRWalk physical activity clearance scale
Exclusion Criteria:
- Not meeting injury type criteria
- Not meeting NP criteria
- Age 17 or less
- Less than a year following injury
- Inability to comprehend spoken English
- Prisoners
- must not have motion sickness that interferes with daily life
- blind