Cutting-Edge Technology from the Games and Film Industry Enables Medical Research Project

People with chronic back pain often adjust their movements to avoid pain. Since these altered movement patterns are difficult to detect with the naked eye, the study aims to map them in greater detail. Researchers also want to investigate whether chiropractic treatment or core muscle training can help the body quickly return to a more natural movement pattern.

“What was previously based on the patient’s subjective experience can now be confirmed with real data. The precision of motion capture technology allows us to measure exactly how different treatments impact movement patterns, opening up completely new insights into these treatments,” says Associate Professor Wim Grooten.

The specific system available in Skellefteå – technology otherwise primarily associated with the film and gaming industries – captures movements with extremely high accuracy, which is crucial for this type of research.

“The fact that we can offer motion analysis at this level of precision makes our testbed unique. We provide an environment where research, creativity, and innovation can truly meet,” says Pernilla Lindmark, project manager for Intersective Game and responsible for the testbed in Skellefteå.

The research project is a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and the Scandinavian College of Chiropractic. Through the Intersective Game project, the tests are carried out at Skellefteå’s motion capture testbed.

About the Research Project

The project studies three different treatment methods: spinal joint manipulation, medical exercise therapy, and open-label placebo. The aim is to study the immediate effects of these interventions on the patient’s ability to lift, walk, bend forward, as well as on pain levels.

Using motion analysis and patient self-reports, the impact on movement execution in everyday actions and on pain is measured – with the goal of understanding how these treatments affect movement quality and which methods may help the body regain normal function.

The technology in Skellefteå makes it possible to measure even small changes in movement execution with millimeter precision, which can be crucial for understanding the objective effects of chiropractic treatment, medical exercise therapy, and open-label placebo.

“Chronic back pain is one of our greatest public health challenges. By objectively showing what actually happens in the body during different treatments, healthcare can evolve – and people’s quality of life can improve,” says doctoral student Fredrik Borg.

The study was recently awarded internal funding from Karolinska Institutet and received the highest ranking among competing projects. It is conducted by doctoral student and chiropractor Fredrik Borg and medical doctor Filip Gedin at the Scandinavian College of Chiropractic and is led by Associate Professor Wim Grooten, together with Professor Erika Franzén from Karolinska Institutet. The project previously received a grant of SEK 400,000 from the Rönnbäret Foundation.

In May, a pilot study was conducted in Skellefteå to further develop the hypotheses ahead of the experimental study this fall, where patients will be treated in a randomized order with all the above-mentioned treatment methods.

Would You Like to Participate in the Study?

Do you suffer from chronic back pain and want to be part of the research? Contact the research team to find out if you can participate in the ongoing study.
(Email Fredrik) fredrik.borg@ki.se