SynthesisNeurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology2025
Systematic review of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for post-stroke hemiplegic shoulder pain.
Synthesis in Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Efficacy of Physical Modalities for Hemiplegic Shoulder Pain After Stroke: A Systematic Review.Journal of neurologic physical therapy : JNPT · 2026Pooled it
- Non-invasive brain stimulation for stroke-related motor impairment and disability: an umbrella review of systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Unraveling Genetic Causality Between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Hemiplegia Based on Mendelian Randomization.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRepetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has shown potential in alleviating hemiplegic shoulder pain (HSP) and improving upper limb function, yet its efficacy remains debated. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of rTMS for HSP through a systematic review and meta-analysis.
methodsFour databases were searched with the keywords "rTMS" and "HSP". Adults aged 18 years and older with post-stroke HSP were included. The primary outcomes were pain scores and upper limb function scores, and the secondary outcomewas the incidence of adverse events. The risk of bias was assessed through the ROB tool in Review Manager 5.4.1, and statistical analysis was primarily conducted through this software.
resultsA total of 52 articles were identified from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and CNKI. Following literature screening, 11 studies were included in the analysis. The quality of the included studies was moderate.The studies encompassed 584 patients with post-stroke HSP and their average age was 62. The analysis revealed that rTMSwas significantly more effective in relieving pain compared to the control group (SMD = -1.14, p < 0.01), and low-frequency rTMSwas superior to high-frequency rTMS. In terms of improving upper limb function, rTMSwas also significantly more efficacious compared to the control group (SMD = 2.20, p < 0.01), and low-frequency and high-intensity rTMSwere more beneficial.
conclusionsThis study highlights the potential efficacy of rTMS. However, the heterogeneity among included studies, limited sample sizes, and lack of long-term follow-up data restrict the generalizability of the results.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.