Virtual illusion therapy may boost arm recovery after spinal cord injury
NCT ID NCT05142943
First seen Jul 07, 2026 · Last updated Jul 08, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether watching projected arm movements (visual illusion) combined with physical exercise can improve hand and arm function, sensation, and pain in people with incomplete cervical spinal cord injury. Participants will be assigned to one of four groups: visual illusion plus exercise, placebo plus exercise, visual illusion alone, or placebo alone. The goal is to see if tricking the brain into seeing moving arms can stimulate nerve pathways and enhance recovery.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Visual illusion therapy (projected arm movements) combined with physical exercise
- What this could lead to
- If effective, this low-cost approach could improve hand and arm function, reduce pain, and enhance quality of life for people with incomplete spinal cord injury.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study (80 participants) testing a novel therapy. The visual illusion may not provide meaningful benefits over exercise alone, and results may not apply to all types of spinal cord injury.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 80 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2021
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 99 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Incomplete cervical spinal cord injury (AIS C, D or E). * Ability to understand instructions (Mini-Mental State Examination\> 23 points) Exclusion Criteria: * Traumatic pathology in upper limbs. * Other alterations of the central nervous system or peripheral * Alterations in the vestibular system. * Concomitant diseases.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Facultat de Fisioteràpia, Universitat de València
RECRUITINGValencia, Valencia, Spain
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Could a muscle hormone shield bones after spinal cord injury?
- Can hope and trust boost engagement with rehab robots?
- Spinal zaps may calm muscle spasms after injury