PIONEERING research into pain management involving a team from Teesside University is being extended to help people overcome the symptoms of long Covid.

Since 2017, Teesside University has been one of the partners in the £2 million VR4Rehab project looking at how virtual reality (VR)technology can help people deal with pain.

It involves universities, hospitals and industry across Europe and has now been extended for another three years with £1.6 million funding from the EU North West Europe Interreg programme.

This is to expand the research into how the long term effects of Covid-19 can be managed using the same technology.

Symptoms can include extreme tiredness, chest pain, memory problems, dizziness, pins and needles and joint pain.

The Teesside University team is led by Professor Denis Martin, Professor of rehabilitation and director of the Centre for Rehabilitation.

He said that the VR4Rehab had already identified new virtual reality tools for the management of persistent pain.

These have included Move VRee, a VR game that therapists and patients can use to retrain motor control and change pain perception.

This VR game is being developed for patients with persistent wrist pain and for the therapists that want to help them.

Professor Martin said: “VR4Rehab has been an incredibly interesting project that has made a real impact through the innovative use of cutting-edge technology.

“Therefore we’re delighted to have received this funding to expand the scope and look at how virtual reality and extended reality might be used to help people with long Covid.

“Along with our current partners we’ll be working with University College Cork so will be extending the geographic reach of the project as well.

“The research will involve an element of development and evaluation of new tools which will involve companies from across Europe and could well be an opportunity for local and regional businesses to get involved and help develop products.

“We’re very excited about the potential for this next stage and the VR4Rehab Congress promises to deliver a genuine insight into how this technology has been adapted and used.”