File
Mescouto K.1, Matias M.2, Silva Filho E.1, Pegado R.1
1Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, FACISA, Santa Cruz, Brazil, 2Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Fisioterapia, Natal, Brazil
Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a debilitating syndrome characterized mainly by widespread pain. Evidences indicate an abnormal pain processing of the central nervous system (CNS) in this population. Therefore, it is suggested that new treatments should focus on targeting specific brain areas. Because Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive, low cost neuromodulation technique that alters cortical excitability, it has become a potential tool in clinical practice to improve chronic pain conditions.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the effects of tDCS on pain when compared to placebo in women with FM.
Methods: It was conducted a single blinded randomized controlled pilot study in which ten women with FM were randomized to receive either sham (n=5; age 62 ± 5.4) or active tDCS (n=5; age 55 ± 6.4) with anodal stimulation in the primary motor cortex (M1). The treatment dosage was a constant current of 2mA for 20 minutes on 5 consecutives days. Pain was assessed using the visual analog scale (EVA) and through algometry to record pressure pain threshold (PPth) and tolerance (PPTo) at the 18 tender points recommended by the ACR. Other symptoms of FM was evaluated using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS). The outcome measurements were assessed in three different moments: 7 days prior to treatment (baseline), at day 1 and day 5 of treatment. Analyses were performed with SPSS version 20. A Non-parametric one-way ANOVA was used to compare PPth and PPto in baseline, day 1 and day 5 of treatment. The level of significance was defined as p 0.05.
Results: There was a statistically significant difference in PPth (p=0,02) and PPto (p=0,02) at the M1 active group when compared to baseline, day 1 and day 5 measurements. No significant difference was found in the sham group. There were no significant differences in functionality, depression and anxiety between both groups before and after tDCS. Due to the small number of participants, it was not possible to find significant results in EVA in pre treatment or throughout tDCS in the M1 or sham group.
Conclusion(s): A one-week anodic tDCS application in M1 area seems effective on decreasing pain in FM patients.
Implications: The present data suggests that FM patients could benefit from this inexpensive, non-invasive and innovative therapy to help improve their pain condition. Future research should be done to confirm these findings.
Funding acknowledgements: None
Topic: Pain & pain management
Ethics approval: Ethical permission was sought and obtained from Reasearch and Ethics Committee (CEP/FACISA) under number 1.530.846.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
