Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32766451›Full record

ArticlePrinciples and practice of clinical research (2015)

The Analgesic Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) combined with Physical Therapy on Common Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Paulo E P Teixeira, Laila Alawdah, Hassan Adam A Alhassan, Matteo Guidetti, Alberto Priori, Stefania Papatheodorou, Felipe Fregni

Registry-linked trialOpen access · diamondAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Principles and practice of clinical research (2015). The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06729437 (Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Functionality and Pain in Individuals With Patellar Tendinopathy), which is not on this map. Cited by 21 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT06729437 narecruitingnot on this map

Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Functionality and Pain in Individuals With Patellar Tendinopathy: Randomized Clinical Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of ValenciaRan2024 to 2027Enrolled42ConditionsPatellar TendinopathyArmstDCS + Therapeutic eccentric exercise, Sham tDCS + Therapeutic eccentric exercise
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

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  18. Cortical stimulation for chronic pain: from anecdote to evidence.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2022
    Review
  19. Non-invasive brain stimulation for osteoarthritis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022
    Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Paulo E P TeixeiraMGH Institute of Health Professions.
Laila AlawdahDivision of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
Hassan Adam A AlhassanHarvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
Matteo Guidetti"Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology & Experimental Brain Therapeutics, Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Alberto Priori"Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology & Experimental Brain Therapeutics, Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Stefania PapatheodorouHarvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
Felipe FregniSpaulding Neuromodulation Center, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.
MGH Institute of Health Professions · US

Funding

Optimized tDCS for fibromyalgia: targeting the endogenous pain control systemR01AT009491 · NCCIH · SPAULDING REHABILITATION HOSPITAL · PI FREGNI, FELIPE · 2018 to 2023
$2.3M
NCCIH NIH HHS R01 AT009491
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe analgesic effects of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) combined with physical therapy remain unclear.

objectiveTo systematically review available evidence comparing tDCS with any physical therapy modality (PTM) to PTM alone or PTM with sham tDCS on pain relief on common musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, namely knee osteoarthritis (KOA), chronic low back pain (CLBP), myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) and fibromyalgia.

methodsEMBASE and MEDLINE were searched from inception to April 2019 for randomized controlled trials. Reviewers independently assessed the studies quality and extracted data according to the PRISMA protocol. The GRADE approach was used to asses quality of evidence and a "Summary of Findings" table was created. The analyses used random-effects model. The primary outcome was pain reduction after treatment.

resultsEight articles were included. Only one study had low risk of bias. Quality of evidence was considered low or very low. Significant reduction in pain scores were found for fibromyalgia and KOA (Standardized mean difference (SMD) = -1.94 [95% CI: -3.37 to -0.49;

conclusionsLarge heterogeneity and low quality of evidence and limited number of studies were found. Results suggest a potential analgesic effect of tDCS in combination with a PTM for fibromyalgia and KOA. Subgroup analysis suggests a stronger effect of tDCS when combined with an exercise based PTM.

Indexed as

chronic low back painfibromyalgiaknee osteoarthritismyofascial pain syndromepainphysical therapyreviewtDCS

Identifiers

PMID32766451
PMCPMC7406123
OpenAlexW3027015665

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

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.