SynthesisJournal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation2025
Non-invasive cerebral and spinal cord stimulation for motor and gait recovery in incomplete spinal cord injury: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effectiveness of transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation for lower limb rehabilitation in spinal cord injury: a systematic review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Additive effect of tDCS and neuromotor recruitment on functional recovery in chronic paraplegia: A randomized controlled trial.PloS one · 2026Trial
- Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on motor ability, neurophysiological changes, mental health, and activities of daily living in spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- Reopening Motor Learning Windows: Targeted Re-Engagement of Latent Pathways via Non-Invasive Neuromodulation.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Emerging strategies for spinal cord injury repair: stem cells, extracellular vesicles, biomaterials, and neuromodulation.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Review
- Editorial: Neurorehabilitative and regenerative methods involved in treating traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, volume II.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- rTMS-induced motor cortex activation drives neural network tissueoid mediated spinal motor neural pathway reconstruction.Theranostics · 2026Article
- A scoping review on the essential role of global neurotrauma in achieving the sustainable development goals.Discover public health · 2026Review
- Effectiveness of Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation for Lower Limb Rehabilitation in Spinal Cord Injury: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Potential Pharmacologic Treatments in Spinal Cord Injury: A Narrative Review.Korean journal of neurotrauma · 2025Review
- Non-Invasive Cervical Spinal Stimulation and Respiratory Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial with a Partial Crossover Design.Brain sciences · 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
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSpinal cord injury (SCI) leads to gait impairment and loss of motor function and can be traumatic or non-traumatic in nature. Recently there has been important progress in the field of non-invasive central nervous stimulation, which can target the brain or spinal cord. In this review we aim to compare the effect of non-invasive cerebral and spinal cord stimulation on gait recovery and motor strength of lower limbs in subjects with SCI.
methodsWe conducted a search (from September 2022 until March 2024) using the PubMed, Cochrane, and PEDro databases, including all studies published since the year 2000. The protocol of the review followed PRISMA guidelines and only RCTs scoring above 5 on the PEDro scale were selected.
resultsA total of 12 RCTs with 341 participants were included. When all studies were pooled together, non-invasive central nervous system stimulation had significant effects on Lower Extremity Motor Scale (LEMS) score and gait speed. However, data was less apparent when subgrouped by type and level of stimulation. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) showed large effect on LEMS, however transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) displayed a small effect on motor strength and gait speed. No meta-analysis could be performed for non-invasive spinal cord stimulation due to a lack of studies.
conclusionsWhen all non-invasive stimulation techniques were pooled together, significant effects on motor strength and gait function were observed. However, subgroup analyses based on stimulation types and levels revealed a significant reduction in these effects, particularly when categorized by stimulation type (rTMS and tDCS). Furthermore, a meta-analysis could not be conducted for non-invasive spinal cord stimulation due to a lack of studies (only one study each on tsDCS and tSCS). Therefore, more randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate neuromodulation interventions in spinal cord injury, particularly at the spinal cord level. Registration This systematic review with meta-analysis was registered in PROSPERO under the ID 512864.
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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.