ArticleThe Korean journal of pain2025
Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on pain and pain-related outcomes: an umbrella review.
Article in The Korean journal of pain, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Alterations of static and dynamic functional connectivity of the nucleus accumbens subregions may be associated with chronic process of migraine: a resting-state fMRI study.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
- Targeting Central Sensitization for Pain Management in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Narrative Review of Mechanisms and Clinical Applications of Neuromodulation.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- H-WaveMedicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: This study examines Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, as an alternative for pain management given the limitations of pharmacological treatments. Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs) on the efficacy of tDCS across pain-related conditions. Outcomes included treatment regimens, mechanisms, effects, and adverse events. Methodological quality was assessed with AMSTAR-2 and evidence levels with GRADE. Results: Forty-one SRMAs were included. Positive effects were observed across 14 pain-related conditions, including 10 pain mechanism-specific outcomes and 6 other pain-related outcomes. Analgesic effects were reported in the short-, mid-, and long-term (up to 4 weeks), especially with stimulation over the primary motor cortex. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that tDCS might be effective for fibromyalgia, migraine, and neuropathic pain associated with spinal cord injury and stroke. However, further evidence is needed for chronic orofacial pain, multiple sclerosis, knee osteoarthritis, central post-stroke pain, intra-abdominal pain, and phantom limb pain. As most of the evidence stems from reviews with "critically low" quality, more high-quality studies are needed in the future.
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Registered trials
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