Effectiveness of Cervical Exercises Using Virtual Reality Headsets on Pain and Disability in Patients With Chronic Neck Pain

Chronic neck pain is one of the most common causes of pain and disability. Its prevalence is approximately 15% in adults and it is one of the main causes of medical leave and the increase of drug consumption. Recent research has found that neck pain is a common pathology among the population. Among the variables associated with neck pain, besides rheumatology, include genetic, psychopathological variables (such as depression, anxiety, coping skills, somatization), sleep disorders, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle, among others. All those variables alter the nervous system in a proprioceptive level, so that deep and superficial flexor, as well as the rest of the muscles, they do not receive correct information that prevents them from processing properly the obtained information. Therefore, alterations also occur at central nervous system levels as in the processing of pain and its control by inhibitory descending systems.

One of the most effective treatments for this pathology is active exercise. The main objective is the activation and strengthening of the deep flexor muscles by craniocervical flexion. It is also important to re-educate all the movements performed with the neck; extension, rotation and inclination are essential movements that also require good initial control of deep flexor muscles and its dynamism is essential to interact with our surroundings.

The action observation which consists of observing an action carried out by another person is based on the ability of the nervous system to assimilate the images seen and process them until they reach the motor cortex, and thanks to the mirror neurons, the painful pattern decreases until it disappears. Thus, visualising a painful situation provokes and evokes in the brain, a painful experience, even when this is not actually happening. Therefore, it has been proved that it can produce changes in the motor cortex since the observation reinforces the cortical representation of the action, thus achieving an improvement in strength and functionality in patients with chronic pain.

Taking all this into account, in this study the investigators propose the idea of working with virtual reality headset in patients with chronic neck pain. This treatment offers great visual, auditory and vestibular feedback that makes it an attractive and stimulating exercise for the patient. It has the ability to individualize treatments and patient needs. These virtual environments can graduate and increase the complexity of the task while decreasing the help and feedback provided by the therapist. The goal of a virtual reality based treatment is to make patients more participatory in their real environments as independently as possible. It is an innovative treatment that does not demand a great financial cost for its use.