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Background: Physical exercises and mindfulness are important components in the management of chronic pain, but pain may reduce exercise adherence. Virtual reality (VR) can provide cognitive inhibition of the ascending pain signal and may thus be a tool for the delivery of pain management during exercise interventions. In this study we assessed a VR-guided intervention seeking to improve physical fitness in individuals with chronic pain.
Methods: Participants in rehabilitation for chronic pain were included in a randomised controlled pilot trial with a cross-over design. In counter-balanced order participants were asked to perform, five minutes of aerobic exercise following identical instructions given through either a VR headset or television (TV) screen. The procedures were then repeated with mindfulness exercises. Heart rate (HR) was monitored throughout all four sessions and participants self-reported perceived exercise intensity, benefit, relaxation, and reward. Paired Student's t-test, Wilcoxon signed rank test and McNemar's test were performed to compare the outcome variables across sessions for individuals, as appropriate. (Clinical trial registration NCT06611566 09.09.24, retrospectively registered).
Results: Twenty-seven participants were included in the study. The mean age (SD) was 40.4 (11.3) years, and 17 (63%) were men. Mean HR, the proportion of time spent at moderate-vigorous exercise intensity levels, and all self-reported measurements were comparable between the VR vs. TV sessions. No major adverse events were reported. The physiological and perceived exercise outputs of aerobic exercises were thus similar across modes of delivery (VR vs. TV) in individuals with chronic pain.
Conclusions: This study confirms the possibilities of VR-guided interventions in the pain management of individuals with chronic pain with comparable levels of exertion to TV-guided exercise and few adverse events. The promise of VR-guided mindfulness in the rehabilitation of patients with chronic pain conditions is also confirmed.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13102-025-01102-9 | DOI Listing |
Vet Surg
September 2025
Department of Large Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.
Objective: To describe the long-term outcome of a horse that underwent a standing, ultrasound-guided, minimally invasive, biceps brachii tenotomy.
Study Design: Case report.
Animal: A 17-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse gelding.
Brain Behav
September 2025
Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Background: Migraine pathophysiology involves a constellation of metabolic abnormalities. These interlinked contributory factors include mitochondrial dysfunction, an altered gut microbiome, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, weight imbalance, and altered glucose metabolism. The ketogenic diet is an emerging therapy which may restore hypometabolism seen in chronic migraine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Neurol
September 2025
Pain Treatment and Evaluation Center, CHU Timone, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France.
Background: Neuropathic pain (NP) is frequently resistant to conventional treatments. Botulinum toxin type A (BT-A) is a recommended option for focal peripheral NP, but the dynamics of its effect in real-life conditions remain poorly characterized.
Objective: To assess BT-A efficacy in a real-world study of patients with focal peripheral NP, over a 1-year follow-up period.
Future Med Chem
September 2025
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey.
In this review, the primary aim is to examine non-azole ring systems that have analgesic activity and, where applicable, to establish structure - activity relationships (SARs) with the nine major pathways, prostaglandin synthesis inhibition, opioid receptor modulation, sodium channel blockade, enhancement of serotonin and norepinephrine levels, cannabinoid receptor (CBR) binding, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonism, transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1) antagonism, and P2X purinergic receptor blockade, have been described for pain relief. Analgesic effects have been observed in compounds containing ring systems such as piperidine, piperazine, pyridine, pyridazine, pyrazine, morpholine, thiomorpholine, pyran, thiopyran, indane, benzofuran, benzothiophene, quinoline, quinazoline, and chromene. These ring systems were classified in the whole study, first according to their molecular weights and then by bioisosteric similarity as same as first part.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Pediatr
September 2025
Paediatric Pain and Palliative Care Service, Department of Women's and Children's Health, University Hospital of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Purpose: This study aimed to describe the structure, patient characteristics, and preliminary clinical outcomes of a dedicated interdisciplinary outpatient clinic for paediatric chronic and complex pain in Italy, with a focus on the feasibility of implementing a biopsychosocial care model.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of all patients referred to the Paediatric Specialised Pain Clinic of the University of Padua between January 2023 and May 2024. Data on demographics, clinical diagnoses, pain characteristics, treatments, and follow-up outcomes were collected.