Body Representation and Neuropathic Pain in Spinal Cord Injury

NCT06794242 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 69HCL24_0460
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 80
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

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

Keywords

Neuropathic pain; Spinal cord injury; Body representation; Virtual reality; Quality of life

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Différences in leg length estimation between controls and patients in the length representation test.

  We will measure the difference between the representation of the length of the lower limbs of controls and spinal cord injured patients. This difference will be assessed using the Point of Subjective Equality (defined as the size of the avatar's legs perceived by the participant as corresponding to the length of their legs) with a two-sample Mann Whitney test (two-tailed) (controls and patients)

  From baseline up to a maximum of 2 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Patients

Spinal cord injury subjects

Other: Body representation

Controle

Healthy Subjects

Other: Body representation

Interventions

Body representation 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; Patients

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with Spinal cord injury and volontary subjects

You may qualify if:

• 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.

You may not qualify if:

• 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

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hospices Civils de Lyon: lead
• Centre de Recherche de Neurosciences de Lyon: collaborator

Study Sites (2)

Pierre Wertheimer Neurological Hospital

Bron, France, 69500, France

Location

Henry Gabrielle Hospital

Saint-Genis-Laval, France, 69230, France

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Spinal Cord Injuries; Neuralgia

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Spinal Cord Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Trauma, Nervous System; Wounds and Injuries; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases; Neuromuscular Diseases; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Central Study Contacts

Jacques LUAUTE, Pr

CONTACT

(0)4.78.86.50.64; jacques.luaute@chu-lyon.fr

Anne-Laure CHARLOIS

CONTACT

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: RETROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 21, 2025
• First Posted: January 27, 2025
• Study Start: April 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2027
• Last Updated: January 27, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-01

Locations

FR (2)