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Body Representation and Neuropathic Pain in Spinal Cord Injury

Key facts

Who runs it
Hospices Civils de Lyon
Where
Bron and Saint-Genis-Laval, FranceSee the 2 sites
Trial code
Status
Not yet recruiting
People taking part
80 people, planned
Started
Apr 2025
Expected to end
May 2027
Type of study
Observational, 2 groups
Treatments tested
  • Body representation
Record updated
27 January 2025

Who can take part

Age
18 years and older
Sex
Women and men
Healthy volunteers
Can take part

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 30 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • 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

Who cannot take part

  • People with a diagnosis of Eating Disorder
  • People with a diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder that can modify body representations
  • People under psychiatric care
  • People with an eating disorder diagnosis
  • People diagnosed with psychiatric disorders that can modify body representations
  • People under psychiatric care
  • People with functional neurological motor disorders and/or partial or complete deficits and/or abnormal movements
  • Patients Group:
  • People who suffer from physiological discomfort when using gaming headsets or virtual reality
  • 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 who suffer from physiological discomfort when using gaming headsets or virtual reality
  • Illiterate people
  • 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

Where in France

  • Pierre Wertheimer Neurological HospitalBron, FranceContact: Jacques LUAUTE, PrNo longer taking part
  • Henry Gabrielle HospitalSaint-Genis-Laval, FranceContact: Jacques LUAUTE, PrNo longer taking part

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

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.

The 2 groups in the trial

  • Patients

    Spinal cord injury subjects

    Treatment: Body representation

  • Controle

    Healthy Subjects

    Treatment: Body representation

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
Investigating the Link Between Body Representation and Neuropathic Pain in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury
Record updated
27 January 2025