Effectiveness of Virtual Gait System Intervention in Motor Function in People with Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury.

NCT ID: NCT04809987

Last Updated: 2024-09-19

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

38 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-01-30

Study Completion Date

2024-12-31

Brief Summary

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Roughly 60% of people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) have an incomplete one, with a strength, sensibility, and muscle tone alteration. Moreover, this condition involves a high impact on the psychological and socioeconomic levels.

After an incomplete SCI, spontaneous functional recovery occurs. This recovery is strong associated with injury and person characteristics, and with corticospinal fibers, motor cortex, and spinal neurons neuroplasticity. However, also it is possible to stimulate neuroplasticity mechanisms of these structures throughout rehabilitation techniques. Generally, with external devices, exoskeletons, or physical exercise therapy. With it, clinicians achieve early, intensive and specific therapies.

This reorganization and recovery can be influenced because of mirror neurons, located in motor and premotor areas, and in other cortical and subcortical areas. These types of neurons are activated with a functional action observation.

Due to incomplete SCI neuroplasticity recover, these therapies (concretely, illusion visual systems) have been the object of systematic review in this population with the aim of knowing its repercussion on neuropathic pain in chronic patients. Moseley and collaborators in 2007 were the first of proposing a virtual gat system that induced patients' gait illusion. The promising results in this intervention, leading institutions performed similar studies with other stimuli and devices, with good results.

However, SCI studies are focused on neuropathic pain and not in motor function (like in other populations). Therefore, there is not any study that assesses mirror neurons activity in the physical condition and/or in functional gait capaity in incomplete spinal cord injury population.

On the basis of the above, the study principal aim is to evaluate a virtual gait treatment effectiveness compared with combined interventions with specific gait physical exercise in functional capacity in the incomplete spinal cord injury population. Concretely in follow outcomes: gait, functionality, strength, muscle tone, sensibility, and neuropathic pain.

Detailed Description

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Roughly 60% of people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) have an incomplete one, with a strength, sensibility, and muscle tone alteration. Moreover, this condition involves a high impact on the psychological and socioeconomic levels.

After an incomplete SCI, spontaneous functional recovery occurs. This recovery is strong associated with injury and person characteristics, and with corticospinal fibers, motor cortex, and spinal neurons neuroplasticity. However, also it is possible to stimulate neuroplasticity mechanisms of these structures throughout rehabilitation techniques. Generally, with external devices, exoskeletons, or physical exercise therapy. With it, clinicians achieve early, intensive and specific therapies.

This reorganization and recovery can be influenced because of mirror neurons, located in motor and premotor areas, and in other cortical and subcortical areas. These types of neurons are activated with a functional action observation. Mirror neurons activity has been studied with several brain injury populations (Cranial traumatisms, Parkinson, or Alzheimer's disease). Therefore, several experimental investigations have been developed by applying different interventions to modified their activity (mirror therapies, virtual reality therapies, or Action-Observation therapies). Its results showed promising improvements, except for advanced Alzheimer's disease.

Due to incomplete SCI neuroplasticity recover, these therapies (concretely, illusion visual systems) have been the object of systematic review in this population with the aim of knowing its repercussion on neuropathic pain in chronic patients. Moseley and collaborators in 2007 were the first of proposing a virtual gat system that induced patients' gait illusion. The promising results in this intervention, leading institutions performed similar studies with other stimuli and devices, with good results.

However, SCI studies are focused on neuropathic pain and not in motor function (like in other populations). Therefore, there is not any study that assesses mirror neurons activity in the physical condition and/or in functional gait capaity in incomplete spinal cord injury population.

On the basis of the above, the study principal aim is to evaluate a virtual gait treatment effectiveness compared with combined interventions with specific gait physical exercise in functional capacity in the incomplete spinal cord injury population. Concretely in follow outcomes: gait, functionality, strength, muscle tone, sensibility, and neuropathic pain.

Therefore, this study is a randomized clinical trial in which four groups of twenty people in each group will participate, with different interventions:

1. Virtual Gait and Physical exercise.
2. Documental projection and physical exercise.
3. Virtual Gait.
4. Documental Projection.

Data analysis will be performed with SPSS statistic program (v26). Normality and homocedasticity will be analyzed by Shapiro-Wilk t-test and Levene test, respectively. For comparation between groups Bonferroni will be used. If any confusion factor that not meet requirements to be analysed like a covaraible exist, ANCOVA will be used. When p\<0.0.5 statistical significant differences will be asumed.

Conditions

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Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

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Virtual Gait and Physical Exercise

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Virtual Gait

Intervention Type OTHER

The subject will be stand up with a standing opposite a mirror (from the waist up) and a screen (from the waist down) where a video of treadmill gait of a person will be projected.

Physical Exercise

Intervention Type OTHER

Specific gait exercise was conducted.

Documental projection and Physical Exercise

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

Physical Exercise

Intervention Type OTHER

Specific gait exercise was conducted.

Documental projection

Intervention Type OTHER

The subject will be stand up with a standing opposite a mirror (from the waist up) and a screen (from the waist down) where video without any type of animal or human movement was showed.

Virtual Gait

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Virtual Gait

Intervention Type OTHER

The subject will be stand up with a standing opposite a mirror (from the waist up) and a screen (from the waist down) where a video of treadmill gait of a person will be projected.

Documental Projection

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

Documental projection

Intervention Type OTHER

The subject will be stand up with a standing opposite a mirror (from the waist up) and a screen (from the waist down) where video without any type of animal or human movement was showed.

Interventions

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Virtual Gait

The subject will be stand up with a standing opposite a mirror (from the waist up) and a screen (from the waist down) where a video of treadmill gait of a person will be projected.

Intervention Type OTHER

Physical Exercise

Specific gait exercise was conducted.

Intervention Type OTHER

Documental projection

The subject will be stand up with a standing opposite a mirror (from the waist up) and a screen (from the waist down) where video without any type of animal or human movement was showed.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Incomplete spinal cord injury (ASIA C,D or E).
* Mini-Mental State Examination \>23 points.

Exclusion Criteria

* Lower limbs traumathic pathology.
* Other nervous system alterations.
* Vestibular diseases.
* Other diseases.
Minimum Eligible Age

16 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

99 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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University of Valencia

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Pilar Serra Añó

Chaired Full Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

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Faculty of Physiotherapy

Valencia, Spain, Spain

Site Status

Facultat de Fisioterapia, Universitat de València

Valencia, Valencia, Spain

Site Status

Countries

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Spain

References

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Moseley LG. Using visual illusion to reduce at-level neuropathic pain in paraplegia. Pain. 2007 Aug;130(3):294-298. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2007.01.007. Epub 2007 Mar 1.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17335974 (View on PubMed)

Molla-Casanova S, Munoz-Gomez E, Moreno-Segura N, Ingles M, Aguilar-Rodriguez M, Sempere-Rubio N, Serra-Ano P. Effect of a virtual walking and exercise-based intervention on muscle strength and activation in people with incomplete spinal cord injury. Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 24;15(1):3144. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-86845-8.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 39856165 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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09102019

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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