Efficacy of a Physical Rehabilitation Program Using Virtual Reality in Patients With Chronic Tendinopathy (Virtendon-Rehab)

Efficacy of a Physical Rehabilitation Program Using Virtual Reality in Patients With Chronic Tendinopathy (Virtendon-Rehab)

Chronic tendinopathies (CT) have a high prevalence (30% of musculoskeletal injuries), causing pain, decreased physical activity and functionality, as well as limitations in daily life. Virtual reality (VR) fosters patient recovery through playful activities that promote competitiveness, stimulates motivation and continuous attention, allows individualizing the exercise program, objectively assessing the execution of the treatment and monitoring the patient's evolution. Therefore, the VIRTENDON-REHAB project aims to conduct a low-risk randomized controlled clinical trial to analyze the efficacy of a VR-based physical rehabilitation program in a population diagnosed with CT on pain, functionality, range of motion, strength, muscle activation pattern, kinesiophobia, quality of life, adherence to treatment and patient satisfaction with the use of the system, compared to a control group. Likewise, the aim is to characterize the clinical profile of this population and to know the relationships between the previous variables. Measurements will be taken at the beginning of the intervention, at the end (12 weeks) and 3 months after the end of the intervention. A descriptive analysis will be performed, inter- and intra-group differences will be analyzed by means of t-Student, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney U and mixed ANOVA tests. Cohen's d will be used to determine the effect size. Relationships between variables will be analyzed using structural equations. The results obtained will allow improving knowledge on the management of CT using VR, as well as improving clinical care and reducing healthcare costs.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of tendinopathy (shoulder rotator cuff tendinopathy, epicondylitis/epicondylitis, patellar tendinopathy, achilles tendinopathy).
• Duration of symptoms: greater than 6 weeks.

Exclusion Criteria:

• People who have any pathology that prevents them from performing physical exercise.
• Persons who have undergone surgery.
• Persons who have an illness that may be a contraindication to the proposed procedure.
• Persons who have received exercise therapy in the last 3 months.
• Persons who have received corticosteroid injections in the last 3 months.