Trial reportBMC musculoskeletal disorders2025
Transcranial direct current stimulation enhances the efficacy of wearable transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for mild knee osteoarthritis in the middle-aged person: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Noninvasive electrical stimulation on pain and function in knee osteoarthritis in middle-aged and older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Transcranial direct current stimulation for pain threshold in knee osteoarthritis: a mechanism-oriented systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Individualized Physical Therapy on Pain and Function in Individuals With Chronic Knee Pain: A Pilot Study.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026Trial
- Effects of nocturnal melatonin-based tissue-bone homeostasis manipulation at varying time points on pain and central mechanisms in individuals with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Effects of tDCS combined with TENS in relieving pain and improving gait patterns during stepping over obstacles among older adults with knee osteoarthritis.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of wearable transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in the middle-aged person with mild knee osteoarthritis (KOA).
designDouble-blind, randomized clinical trial.
settingA general hospital. SUBJECTS: Participants aged 60-70 with mild KOA (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 1-2).
interventionsThe experimental group received TENS + tDCS, and the control group received TENS + sham tDCS for four weeks from Monday through Friday. MAIN MEASURES: The primary outcome was Brief Pain Inventory (BPI). The secondary outcomes included participants' Visual Analog Scale (VAS), step length, cadence, 6-minute walking test (6MWT), active knee range of motion (ROM), and quadriceps strength. The indexes were assessed one week before treatment (T0), two weeks after treatment commencement (T1), four weeks after treatment commencement (T2), one month after treatment cessation (T3), and two months after treatment cessation (T4).
resultsA total of 110 participants (55 per group) completed the intervention and follow-up. Repeated-measures ANOVA indicated that tDCS significantly improved the efficacy of TENS in alleviating pain and enhancing walking ability among patients with mild KOA. Statistically significant differences in BPI scores were observed between the experimental and control groups at T1 (2.16 vs. 2.45, P = 0.038), T2 (1.17 vs. 1.73, P < 0.001), and T3 (2.17 vs. 2.41, P = 0.021). However, no significant difference was detected at T4 (2.50 vs. 2.63, P = 0.293).
conclusionThe four-week combined intervention demonstrated that tDCS potentiated the therapeutic efficacy of TENS in managing mild KOA. The combined protocol exhibited superiority over TENS monotherapy, with sustained benefits observed up to one-month post-intervention.
trial registrationThis research has been registered in chictr.org.cn (registration number: ChiCTR2200064735) on 15 October 2022, https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=182561 .
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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.