Effects of Virtual Reality on Brain Hemodynamic Activity in Chronic Pain

NCT ID: NCT06154850

Last Updated: 2024-03-27

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 15 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-11-07
• Study Completion Date: 2024-03-19

Brief Summary

Virtual reality systems have been applied in recent years to reduce pain intensity and fear of movement in individuals with acute and chronic pain. The main mechanism of virtual reality methods in pain control is to provide the effect of distraction from pain. Virtual reality systems allow the individuals to feel themselves in a different environment and shift their attention to the game they are playing or the virtual world created rather than the pain they feel. This is thought to be the main mechanism of pain control. However, the cortical mechanism of the reduction in pain caused by virtual reality methods, especially in individuals with chronic pain, has not been fully elucidated.

It is predicted that the integration of virtual reality methods into treatment protocols will gradually increase by time, especially as a result of the reflection of technological developments in clinical practice. At this point, fNIRS, which enables the assessment of the functionality of brain areas during movement, has the potential to reveal the response of the effect provided by virtual reality technology in the prefrontal cortex.

The aims of our study were to examine brain hemodynamic activity during the experience of non-immersive and immersive virtual reality environments and the change in pain intensity after virtual reality applications in individuals with rheumatic diseases with chronic pain.

Conditions

Chronic Pain; Rheumatoid Arthritis; Virtual Reality

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Immersive Virtual Reality

Individuals will wear the headset for 10 minutes while playing NatureTrek application

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Immersive virtual reality

Intervention Type: OTHER

Oculus Quest 2 will be used with NatureTrek application for 10 minutes.

Non-immersive Virtual Reality

Individuals will watch a video including scenes from NatureTrek application for 10 minutes.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Non-immersive virtual reality

Intervention Type: OTHER

Patients will watch a video including scenes from NatureTrek application on a screen.

Interventions

Immersive virtual reality

Oculus Quest 2 will be used with NatureTrek application for 10 minutes.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Non-immersive virtual reality

Patients will watch a video including scenes from NatureTrek application on a screen.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis,
• Right hand dominant,

Exclusion Criteria

• A history of acute pain up to 3 days prior to the date of evaluation,
• Any psychiatric and neurological diagnosis,
• Have a cognitive problem that prevents them from adapting to the working procedure,
• Using centrally acting medications and anti-depressants.
• Presence of neuropathic pain,
• Presence of vision or hearing problems,
• Any psychiatric and neurological diagnosis

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 55 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kirdar City Hospital

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Acibadem University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University

Istanbul, , Turkey (Türkiye)

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

Other Identifiers

ATADEK 2022-14/06

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id