SynthesisFrontiers in human neuroscience2025
Transcranial direct current stimulation combined with exercise therapy for chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Transcranial direct current stimulation combined with rehabilitation training for chronic spinal pain: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Chronic low-back pain (CLBP) is a leading cause of disability, with current treatments offering only modest benefits. Transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) may enhance exercise therapy by modulating cortical excitability and pain-inhibitory pathways. This systematic review and meta-analysis quantified the additive effect of combining tDCS with structured exercise in adults with CLBP. Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, CENTRAL, Embase, and CNKI up to 25 September 2025. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing active tDCS plus identical exercise therapy vs. sham tDCS plus the same exercise in adults with CLBP (≥ 12 weeks) were included. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane RoB 2.0. Weighted mean difference (WMD) and standardized mean difference (SMD) were calculated for pain and function, respectively.GRADE was used to assess certainty. Results: Five RCTs ( Conclusion: Anodal tDCS combined with exercise provides a modest but significant additional reduction in pain intensity for CLBP. Longer intervention duration may enhance functional outcomes. Clinical significance should be interpreted cautiously. Larger, well-designed trials are needed to confirm these findings and optimize stimulation parameters. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251151315, identifier CRD420251151315.
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Registered trials
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.