Body Representation and Neuropathic Pain in Spinal Cord Injury

NCT ID: NCT06794242

Last Updated: 2025-01-27

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Total Enrollment: 80 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-04-30
• Study Completion Date: 2027-05-31

Brief Summary

Chronic pain is one of the main complications of spinal cord injury, has a very negative impact on quality of life, and persists over time despite the use of analgesic treatments. Several types of pain are possible in patients with spinal cord injury, and neuropathic pain (pain caused by damage to the spinal cord, in this case) is one of the most difficult to treat, even with medication. Following an injury to the spinal cord, it is possible for the representation of the body to change as a result of sensorimotor deficits, prolonged changes in body posture and altered mobility. At present, the causes of chronic pain after spinal cord injury remain poorly understood and debated, but one hypothesis suggests that changes in body representation may play a key role in the development or worsening of neuropathic pain. To test this hypothesis, we will assess the perception of spinal cord injured patients (and a group of controls) of the size of their legs using a virtual reality device. This measurement will enable us to examine whether under- or over-estimation of leg length correlates with the presence of neuropathic pain in patients. Chronic pain in people with spinal cord injury is associated with an increased risk of stress, depression and anxiety, and understanding and treating neuropathic pain in people with spinal cord injury is a major issue in their management.

Conditions

Spinal Cord Injury

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: CASE_CONTROL
• Study Time Perspective: RETROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

Patients

Spinal cord injury subjects

Body representation

Intervention Type: OTHER

All the participants (controls and patients) in the study will follow the same experimental procedure, which consists of a single virtual reality session involving the estimation of leg length and an object.

Controle

Healthy Subjects

Body representation

Intervention Type: OTHER

All the participants (controls and patients) in the study will follow the same experimental procedure, which consists of a single virtual reality session involving the estimation of leg length and an object.

Interventions

Body representation

All the participants (controls and patients) in the study will follow the same experimental procedure, which consists of a single virtual reality session involving the estimation of leg length and an object.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

Patients group:

• Men and women between the ages of 18 and 65;
• Have normal or corrected eyesight;
• Have a spinal cord lesion resulting in total or partial loss of tactile and proprioceptive sensitivity and motor skills in the lower limbs.
• have given their free and informed consent in writing, after having been informed orally and in writing of the study's progress.

Control group:

• Men and women between 18 and 65 years of age
• Have normal or corrected eyesight
• Have given their free and informed written consent after having been informed orally and in writing of the course of the study.

Exclusion Criteria

Patients Group:

• People with a diagnosis of Eating Disorder
• People with a diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder that can modify body representations
• People who suffer from physiological discomfort when using gaming headsets or virtual reality
• People under psychiatric care
• Illiterate people
• Pregnant women, women in labour or breastfeeding mothers
• Persons deprived of their liberty by judicial or administrative decision
• Adults under legal protection (guardianship, curatorship)
• Persons not affiliated to a social security scheme or beneficiaries of a similar scheme

Control group:

• People with an eating disorder diagnosis
• People diagnosed with psychiatric disorders that can modify body representations
• People who suffer from physiological discomfort when using gaming headsets or virtual reality
• People under psychiatric care
• Illiterate people
• People with functional neurological motor disorders and/or partial or complete deficits and/or abnormal movements
• People with sensitivity problems in the lower limbs
• Pregnant women, women in labour or breastfeeding mothers
• Persons deprived of their liberty by judicial or administrative decision
• Persons admitted to a health or social establishment for purposes other than research
• Adults under legal protection (guardianship, curatorship)
• Persons not affiliated to a social security scheme or beneficiaries of a similar scheme

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Centre de Recherche de Neurosciences de Lyon

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Hospices Civils de Lyon

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

Pierre Wertheimer Neurological Hospital

Bron, France, France

Henry Gabrielle Hospital

Saint-Genis-Laval, France, France

Countries

France

Central Contacts

Jacques LUAUTE, Pr

Role: CONTACT

jacques.luaute@chu-lyon.fr

(0)4.78.86.50.64 ext. +33

Anne-Laure CHARLOIS

Role: CONTACT

Facility Contacts

Jacques LUAUTE, Pr

Role: primary

jacques.luaute@chu-lyon.fr

(0)4.78.86.50.64 ext. +33

Jacques LUAUTE, Pr

Role: primary

jacques.luaute@chu-lyon.fr

(0)4.78.86.50.64 ext. +33

Other Identifiers

69HCL24_0460

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id