Effectiveness of a Combined Virtual Reality–Based and Mindfulness Intervention on Pain Acceptance in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury
Abstract
The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a combined virtual reality–based and mindfulness intervention on pain acceptance in individuals with spinal cord injury. This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest–posttest control group design and a two-month follow-up. The statistical population included all individuals with spinal cord injury (quadriplegia) who referred to the welfare centers of Fars Province and the Raad Institute in Shiraz in 2024. The sample consisted of 30 individuals with spinal cord injury selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 15). The experimental group received the combined virtual reality and mindfulness intervention in 8 sessions. Both groups completed the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ) at three time points: pretest, posttest, and two-month follow-up. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 with mixed analysis of variance, as well as independent-samples and paired-samples t tests. The findings indicated that the mean pain acceptance scores in the combined intervention group improved more from pretest to posttest and follow-up compared with the control group, supporting the effectiveness of the combined virtual reality–based and mindfulness intervention on pain acceptance in individuals with spinal cord injury. Given the demonstrated effectiveness of the combined virtual reality–based and mindfulness intervention on pain acceptance in individuals with spinal cord injury, clinicians may use this integrated virtual reality and mindfulness package in the treatment of patients with spinal cord injury.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Maryam Ahmadi (Author); Gholamreza Manshaei; Ali Mahdad (Author)
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