Cutts S, Sack AT. Neurophysiol Clin. 2023 Dec;53(6):102922. doi: 10.1016/j.neucli.2023.102922. Epub 2023 Nov 15. PMID: 37972461.
In this issue of Neurophysiologie Clinique journal, two systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the exact same topic, conducted by two independent research groups, are presented [10,22]. Coincidentally, these two independent groups both aimed to assess the clinical effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in alleviating pain in knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Each of their analyses included up to 14 studies, involving up to 740 patients with KOA. Both reviews and meta-analyses converge in their conclusion that tDCS, whether used independently or in conjunction with other treatments, may be used as a viable pain management approach for individuals with KOA.
These reviews come at a timely moment where the clinical applications of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) and neuromodulation technologies are booming and the number of recognised, approved and evidence-based clinical applications is constantly growing. We here would like to briefly highlight and summarize the main findings of these two systematic reviews and meta-analyses regarding the use of tDCS for pain management in patients with KOA, while embedding this summary in a general comment regarding the current position of NIBS techniques for treating disorders in the field of neurology and rehabilitation.