Previously submitted to: JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies (no longer under consideration since Apr 11, 2025)
Date Submitted: Oct 28, 2024
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
The feasibility of a co-designed Virtual Reality experience in those with chronic low back pain
ABSTRACT
Background:
Low back pain has been identified by the World Health Organisation as the leading cause of disability globally, with 4 to 25% progressing to a presentation of chronic low back pain (CLBP). Exercise based therapy is advocated for those with CLBP, with the use of virtual reality (VR) a potential modality to address poor adherence.
Objective:
The purpose of this study, using surface electromyography (sEMG), was to understand the feasibility of co-designed bespoke VR experiences to elicit muscle activity within those with CLBP.
Methods:
Using a cross-sectional descriptive study design, CLBP sufferers (n=14) underwent three of five co-designed, bespoke VR experiences with muscle activity quantified using surface electromyography of muscles of the lower back.
Results:
Muscles were observed to be active for 52.9 ± 29.8% of the duration of the VR experiences at a very low intensity of exercise with a significant interaction (F(12)=2.207, p=0.011) effect between VR experience and muscles activated observed.
Conclusions:
This investigation established the feasibility of co-designed VR experiences to elicit muscle activity at very low levels of intensity for those with CLBP. Variation in muscle activity between muscles and VR experiences demonstrates how the modality may need to be tailored through the professional oversight to ensure the desired range of motion and specific muscle activity is elicited.
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Copyright
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