Trial reportBMC geriatrics2025
The effects of aquatic therapy combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on proprioception and gait speed in older adults with knee osteoarthritis: an eight-week randomized sham-controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC geriatrics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled 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
- Smoking quitting promotes neuromuscular and cartilage recovery in knee osteoarthritis.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Osteoarthritis: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment.MedComm · 2026Review
- Altered activation patterns of sensorimotor cortex during level walking and stair climbing in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Article
- Efficacy and Central Mechanism of Shexiang Zhuifeng Analgesic Plaster Combined with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Potential for distinguishing the parkinsonian subtype of multiple system atrophy from Parkinson's disease: a three-dimensional gait analysis study.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundKnee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a prevalent condition among older adults, leading to impaired proprioception and reduced gait speed, which compromise mobility and quality of life. While aquatic therapy and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have individually shown potential for enhancing motor and sensory functions, their combined effects are not well understood.
objectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the combined effects of aquatic therapy and tDCS on knee proprioception and gait speed in older women with KOA.
methodsA randomized, triple-blind, parallel-group, sham-controlled clinical trial was conducted with 68 elderly women with KOA (aged 63-68 years). Participants were allocated into four groups: (1) Aquatic Therapy + Sham tDCS (2), Aquatic Therapy + Real tDCS (3), Real tDCS, and (4) Sham tDCS. Interventions were conducted twice weekly over an 8-week period. Knee proprioception was assessed using a digital goniometer, and gait speed was measured via the 10-Meter Walk Test under normal and dual-task conditions. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), controlling for height and baseline scores.
resultsPaired t-tests revealed significant improvements in gait speed (under both normal and dual-task conditions) and knee proprioception in all intervention groups, except the Sham tDCS group (p ≤ 0.05). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), controlling for height and pre-test scores, showed significant between-group differences in both gait speed and knee proprioception. Post hoc comparisons indicated that the Aquatic Therapy + Real tDCS group exhibited significantly greater improvements in knee proprioception compared to both the Aquatic Therapy + Sham tDCS and Real tDCS groups (p ≤ 0.05), supporting the additive effect of real tDCS on sensory outcomes. However, no significant differences in gait speed were observed between the Aquatic Therapy + Real tDCS and Aquatic Therapy + Sham tDCS groups under either normal or dual-task conditions.
conclusionThe combined use of aquatic therapy and tDCS appears to enhance proprioceptive function more effectively than either intervention alone, while improvements in gait speed seem primarily driven by aquatic therapy. These findings suggest that tDCS may offer sensory-specific benefits in multimodal rehabilitation for older adults with KOA. Further research is warranted to assess the long-term effects, evaluate outcomes under varied task demands, and examine the generalizability to broader populations.
trial registrationThis clinical trial was registered with Iran's Clinical Trial Registration Center (IRCT)[IRCT20190908044722N8] on 8 January 2025.
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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 Socratic graph.