Investigating the effectiveness of visual illusions in treating pain

An intervention trial to investigate the effectiveness of visual illusions in manipulating body perception disturbances to reduce chronic pain and improve movement performance

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN64093359

Enrollment

Registered

2018-07-17

Start date

2013-06-16

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2018-08-20

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Specialty: Musculoskeletal Disorders, Primary sub-specialty: Musculoskeletal Pain Disorders Musculoskeletal Diseases

Interventions

Study intervention The study intervention utilises the MIRAGE system developed for the upper limb by Dr Newport at Nottingham University. This system digitally manipulates real-time video of the hands

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Participants meet the Budapest criteria for CRPS (Harden 2010) in one upper limb and may have lower limb involvement (unilateral or bilateral) 2. >/= 18 years 3. Male or female 4. Describe an altered perception of their painful body 5. Able to understand verbal and written English 6. Willing to participate and provide written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Serious ill health 2. Bilateral upper limb involvement 3. Dystonia 4. Co-morbidity that may influence CRPS symptoms i.e. stroke, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, progressive neurological disease such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease 5. Currently participating in an intervention trial

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Measured at baseline, post intervention where stated and follow up in session 5: 1. Pain specific to the hand will be verbally captured using a 0-10 numerical rating scale (NRS) where 0 is no pain and 10 is worst pain imaginable, undertaken pre-post intervention 2. Pain assessed using the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory at baseline 3. Body perception disturbance measured using the Bath CRPS body perception disturbance scale	—

Measure

Time frame

Measured at baseline, post intervention where stated and follow up in session 5: 1. Pain specific to the hand will be verbally captured using a 0-10 numerical rating scale (NRS) where 0 is no pain and 10 is worst pain imaginable, undertaken pre-post intervention 2. Pain assessed using the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory at baseline 3. Body perception disturbance measured using the Bath CRPS body perception disturbance scale

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Tactile acuity, measured using a two-point discrimination test pre and post intervention	—

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026