Cure My Disease

Don't miss your cure!

 Log in / Sign up

Can virtual walking trick the brain into easing chronic pain?

NCT ID NCT07820618

Symptom relief Sponsor: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing This study
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 15, 2026 · Last updated Sep 16, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

Researchers are testing whether a virtual walking program can reduce chronic pain and psychological distress in people with severe mobility impairment, mostly from spinal cord injuries or polio. Participants wear a head-mounted display and use a controller to guide an avatar through virtual natural scenes for about 13 minutes a day over 10 days. A control group watches walking videos instead. The study also uses EEG to look at brain activity and interviews participants about their experience.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
virtual walking intervention using a head-mounted display and controller
What this could lead to
If it works, virtual walking could offer a non-drug way to ease chronic pain and distress for people who cannot walk. It could also point to brain changes that explain why the approach might help.
What could go wrong
This is a small pilot study with 48 participants, so any benefits may not hold up in larger trials. Virtual reality can cause dizziness or discomfort, and some people may not respond to the intervention.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

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

About 48 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Apr 2026

Expected to finish

Apr 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

18 to 65 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show 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: * People with SMI (the operational definition of SMI is inability to walk 4 meters in less than 10 seconds, or self-, proxy-, or medical record reported inability to walk across a small room, or dependence on a walking aid during walking for more than 6 months (Pahor et al., 2014)); * At least 6 months post-injury and in stable status; * Persistent chronic pain (more than 3 months) with a reported Numerical Pain Rating Scale ≥ 4 (Villiger et al., 2017); * Had no changes in their pain medication regimen in the past month; * Able to communicate in Cantonese and to provide informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Have severe cognitive impairment (a score \< 6 on the Abbreviated Mental Test (Chu et al., 1995)); * Had a history of moderate to severe brain injury; * Have neurological disorders which affect brain function (i.e., stroke, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, epilepsy) that may confound EEG measures; * Have a severe psychiatric disorder (schizophrenia or major depression); * Have an upper limb condition influencing the use of VR (e.g., arthritis or upper limb amputation).

Get updates

Get notified about this study

Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Chronic pain are added.

Our safety recommendation!

By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use

Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Chronic Pain chronic pain syndrome poliomyelitis spinal cord injury

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Poliomyelitis Severe mobility impairment Spinal cord injuries (SCI)

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

    Hung Hom, Hong Kong

More trials for these conditions

Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.