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Virtual Reality-Supported Exercise for Chronic Musculoskeletal Shoulder Disorders: a Feasibility Study

NCT07392762 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2026-02-06

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

People with long-term (chronic) shoulder disorders caused by injuries, overuse or conditions (such as arthritis) often need physiotherapy. This usually includes exercise therapy to help reduce pain, rebuild strength and make every day activities easier. However, it can be hard to stick to an exercise programme. People may stop due to pain, fear of making the symptoms worse or simply loosing motivation.

Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that may help people say engaged with their exercise programmes by making exercises more enjoyable and interactive. When using a headset (similar to goggles), people can see and interact with a 3D virtual world. Their movement, especially their hands and arms, are shown as an 'avatar' (a virtual character) in this virtual world. Exercise can feel more like playing a game or engaging with tasks/challenges, rather than performing repetitive movements. This shift might help reduce focus on pain and increase motivation. VR also provides real-time feedback, helping people track their progress and adjust their movements instantly. This might lead to more accurate and consistent exercise performance and better recovery outcomes.

Before we can test whether VR exercise programmes are effective for people with chronic shoulder disorders, we firstly need to understand whether it is practical and acceptable for patients to use. This 'feasibility' study will therefore involve 20 patients with chronic shoulder disorders referred for physiotherapy at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) in Stanmore, United Kingdom. Participants will take part in three VR exercise sessions at the RNOH over a three-week period. Levels of pain, quality of life and sleep quality etc. will be measured before and after three weeks. Interviews will also be held up to two weeks after the final session to explore people's experiences and thoughts towards the VR exercise programme. The results will help us decide if a larger study should go ahead.

Conditions

  • Shoulder Pain
  • Chronic Shoulder Pain
  • Musculoskeletal Shoulder Pain

Interventions

DEVICE

Virtual Reality

Participants will engage with a 30 minute shoulder exercise programme using the SyncVR platform. There will be three intervention sessions in total and they will be spaced out once per week for a period of three weeks.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • SyncVR Medical

    collaborator UNKNOWN

  • Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Anju Jaggi, MSc · Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-01-16
Primary Completion
2026-10-31
Completion
2026-12-31

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07392762 on ClinicalTrials.gov