Efficacy of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Pain Intensity and Functionality in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objective: The aim of the study is to investigate whether transcranial direct current stimulation is superior to control groups or other interventions for pain relief and improving functionality in knee osteoarthritis patients.

Methods: PubMed, the Physiotherapy Evidence Database, the Cochrane Library, ProQuest, and Scopus databases were searched from inception to July 2022 to identify randomized clinical trials. The main outcomes were subjective perception of pain intensity measured either with the visual analog scale or with the numeric rating scale; and the functionality, assessed with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index. As secondary outcomes, pressure pain threshold, conditioned pain modulation, and its safety were evaluated.

Results: We identified 10 randomized clinical trials (634 participants). The results showed an important effect favoring transcranial direct current stimulation for pain relief (mean difference = -1.1 cm, 95% confident interval = -2.1 to -0.2) and for improving functionality (standardized mean difference = -0.6, 95% confident interval = -1.02 to -0.26). There was also a significant improvement in pressure pain threshold (mean difference = 0.9 Kgf/cm 2 , 95% confident interval = 0.1 to 1.6). The certainty of evidence according to Grades of Recommendation Assessment, Development and Evaluation was generally moderate.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that transcranial direct current stimulation is a safe treatment for reducing pain intensity, improving functionality, and the pressure pain thresholds in patients with knee osteoarthritis.