Feasibility, Acceptability, and Usability of a Multimodal Telerehabilitation Intervention Combining Immersive Virtual Reality Exercises with Therapeutic Education for Persistent Non-Specific Neck Pain: A Convergent Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study

Clinical practice guidelines advocate a multimodal approach for managing persistent non-specific neck pain (NSNP), including therapeutic education and exercise programs that can be performed either in clinical settings or at home. Recommended physiotherapy interventions for persistent NSNP generally yield modest benefits, highlighting the need to develop and assess novel interventions that could provide more effective outcomes. Immersive virtual reality (VR), an innovative rehabilitation tool that uses serious games to perform exercises, has been investigated for several years as an intervention for persistent neck pain and appears to be at least as effective as conventional approaches. Telerehabilitation offers numerous advantages (e.g., improved access to healthcare services, greater scheduling flexibility, and enhanced patient self-management) and appears to be at least as effective as traditional in-person physiotherapy. However, a multimodal telerehabilitation intervention combining immersive VR exercises with therapeutic education for individuals with persistent NSNP has not yet been investigated. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and usability of a 6-week multimodal telerehabilitation intervention combining immersive VR exercises with therapeutic education for individuals with persistent NSNP.