Trial reportThe Clinical journal of pain2014
Pain reduction in myofascial pain syndrome by anodal transcranial direct current stimulation combined with standard treatment: a randomized controlled study.
Trial report in The Clinical journal of pain, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brain stimulation targets for chronic pain: Insights from meta-analysis, functional connectivity and literature review.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2024Pooled it
- The effect of therapeutic physical modalities on pain, function, and quality of life in patients with myofascial pain syndrome: a systematic review.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Pooled it
- Evidence-Based Guidelines and Secondary Meta-Analysis for the Use of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2021Pooled it
- Noninvasive brain stimulation combined with exercise in chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Expert review of neurotherapeutics · 2020Pooled it
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Improve the Dysfunction of Descending Pain Modulatory System Related to Opioids in Chronic Non-cancer Pain: An Integrative Review of Neurobiology and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2019Pooled it
- Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques for chronic pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques for chronic pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Transcranial Direct Current Electric Stimulation Combined with Physical Exercise in Patients with Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome: Randomized Clinical Trial.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Trial
- The Use of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation for the Management of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Fad or Future?Brain sciences · 2025Article
- The Role of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Chronic Shoulder Pain: A Scoping Review.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Orthopedic Pain: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- The Neurophysiological Lesion: A Scoping Review.Journal of chiropractic medicine · 2023Article
- Brain stimulation for chronic pain management: a narrative review of analgesic mechanisms and clinical evidence.Neurosurgical review · 2023Review
- Time since onset might be of essence: A recommendation to assess the effects of combination of non-pharmacological neuromodulatory approaches at early stage since symptoms onset.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
- Methods and strategies of tDCS for the treatment of pain: current status and future directions.Expert review of medical devices · 2020Review
- Electrophysiological Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Neural Activity in the Rat Motor Cortex.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2020Article
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation as a Therapeutic Tool for Chronic Pain.The journal of ECT · 2018Review
- Combined transcranial and trans-spinal direct current stimulation in chronic headache: A feasibility and safety trial for a novel intervention.Hong Kong physiotherapy journal : official publication of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association Limited = Wu li chih liao · 2017Article
- Understanding Negative Results in tDCS Research: The Importance of Neural Targeting and Cortical Engagement.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2017Article
- Does Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined with Peripheral Electrical Stimulation Have an Additive Effect in the Control of Hip Joint Osteonecrosis Pain Associated with Sickle Cell Disease? A Protocol for a One-Session Double Blind, Block-Randomized Clinical Trial.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMyofascial pain syndrome (MPS) in the shoulder is among the most prevalent pain problems in the middle-aged population worldwide. Evidence suggests that peripheral and central sensitization may play an important role in the development and maintenance of shoulder MPS. Given previous research supporting the potential efficacy of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for modulating pain-related brain activity in individuals with refractory central pain, we hypothesized that anodal tDCS when applied over the primary motor cortex (M1) combined with standard treatment will be more effective for reducing pain in patients with MPS than standard treatment alone. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Study participants were randomized to receive either (1) standard treatment with 5 consecutive days of 1 mA anodal tDCS over M1 for 20 minutes; or (2) standard treatment plus sham tDCS. Measures of pain intensity, shoulder passive range of motion (PROM), analgesic medication use, and self-reported physical functioning were administered before treatment and again at posttreatment and 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-week follow-up.
resultsThirty-one patients with MPS were enrolled. Participants assigned to the active tDCS condition reported significantly more pretreatment to posttreatment reductions in pain intensity that were maintained at 1-week posttreatment, and significant improvement in shoulder adduction PROM at 1-week follow-up than participants assigned to the sham tDCS condition.
conclusionsFive consecutive days of anodal tDCS over M1 combined with standard treatment appears to reduce pain intensity and may improve PROM, faster than standard treatment alone. Further tests on the efficacy and duration of effects of tDCS in the treatment of MPS are warranted.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.