Changing Lower Back Pain Through Virtual Reality

Changing Lower Back Pain Through Virtual Reality: a Randomised Clinical Controlled Trial

The main objective of this randomized controlled trial is to investigate the efficacy of a 6-week therapeutic exercise program, performed with virtual reality (VR) manipulating visual proprioceptive information during all lumbar movements in the different therapeutic exercises (experimental group), on pain and disability, kinesiophobia, range of motion (ROM), catastrophizing, quality of life, and physical fitness in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain compared to the same therapeutic exercise program without VR (control group).

Chronic pain is considered an urgent global public health problem. One of the most prevalent chronic pain pathologies worldwide is low back pain (LBP). Kinesophobia (fear of movement) has been largely associated with pain intensity, disability, worse quality of life and chronification in LBP; while physical reconditioning has been proposed in clinical practice as a key element in the treatment of LBP.(20-22) However, the efficacy of physical reconditioning programs developed so far would require considerable improvement. The induction of illusions in virtual reality (VR) through visual cues could be a valid alternative to evoke motion illusions and be able to modify proprioceptive integration, acting on kinesiophobia, in turn. The main objective of this randomized controlled trial is to investigate the efficacy of a 6-week therapeutic exercise program, performed with VR manipulating visual proprioceptive information during all lumbar movements in the different therapeutic exercises (experimental group), on pain and disability, kinesiophobia, range of motion (ROM), catastrophizing, quality of life, and physical fitness in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain compared to the same therapeutic exercise program without VR (control group).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of chronic non-specific lower back pain according to the European COST B13 guideline.
• Pain score of 3 or higher on the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) in the last 6 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of spinal tumor.
• Presence of infection.
• Presence of fracture.
• Presence of systemic disease.
• Presence of fibromyalgia.
• Presence of cauda equina syndrome.
• Previous spinal surgery.
• Presence of musculoskeletal injuries of the lower extremities.