Neural Noise

tDCS with exercise and education for fibromyalgia pain

2 min read

  • A randomized controlled trial tested tDCS combined with exercise and pain education for fibromyalgia.1
  • The study combined multiple non-pharmacological interventions in fibromyalgia, relevant to tDCS in pain.1 1

Gardner updates

  • A systematic review with meta-analysis examined tDCS for fibromyalgia pain, with specific search criteria for active vs sham tDCS RCTs in fibromyalgia patients. 2

Weekly enrichment (2026-07-20)

  • The primary trial matching this topic is Home-Based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation vs Placebo for Fibromyalgia, a double-blind, sham-controlled randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Network Open 2025 (DOI 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.14262; PMID 40478572).3 4
  • The trial enrolled 112 women with fibromyalgia (aged 18–65, mean age ~49), randomized between April 2022 and April 2024 at the Clinical Research Center of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre in Porto Alegre, Brazil.3 4
  • The active arm delivered home-based anodal tDCS at 2 mA for 20 minutes daily over 4 weeks, using bifrontal montage (anodal over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, cathodal over the right, 35 cm² electrodes), combined with exercise and pain neuroscience education (PNE) via videos and remote supervision after in-person training.3 4
  • The sham arm used an identical setup with brief ramped current (2 mA for 30 seconds, then intermittent low delivery) plus the same exercise and PNE, isolating the specific effect of active stimulation.3 4
  • The primary outcome was change in the Multidimensional Pain Interference Index (MPII), derived from the Brief Pain Inventory; active tDCS reduced pain interference by about 39% versus about 16% for sham.3 4
  • Among placebo-test responders, a clinically meaningful improvement of ≥50% in MPII was reached by 62.5% of the active-tDCS group versus 37.5% of the sham group (relative risk 0.60; 95% CI 0.39–0.91).3 4
  • The trial reported that active tDCS improved pain-related disability and enhanced endogenous pain modulation, with only mild adverse events, supporting a role for supervised home-based neuromodulation in fibromyalgia.3 4
  • For broader context, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 20 studies (664 patients; left M1 the most common target and 2 mA the most common intensity) found active tDCS significantly reduced fibromyalgia pain intensity versus sham (standardized mean difference −1.55; 95% CI −2.10 to −0.99).5

Footnotes

  1. https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiygFBVV95cUxNaUJYZU80dmlYaGNKTFA2cm93akRET2tPeHBCQ3Q1S0I2QWI5M0RjZmNWaEN2eEM4d3BBaUhBU2h6ODRMeF95QTg1NmRtRzFsemVaYmFBUkFVQnkwRHBPYWRTUjh2RlVIMlJvTTFyOGRkUzhFVmxZYl9KRzZwWDRNM3o0enh6d3pQSjR1YmFad2tMVldOdkxPT1BtZXpfUTBpNnR4ZVdCNGItT2EzRUFoYWdXQ1NZTVFqQnpGdDJqWFRFOVhNQ3p4eHZB?oc=5 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiygFBVV95cUxPbWxJaTZmZE1fYlpzYlFMZEF5WHlmODBic0dka3NTa2U3NWVMQ3hVT0poT1VJenBaTHlGMVZpQjVJUmlaQURha3BteHJqSHl0c3lzaFVfaDM4NzgzalZ3T3JvWlBpekxqZUNKaWtDTUJSaEtxeXdJbzhaM19ZaWhKMXBKNHBCM0JVekFZWWJMR0pnSlVEdkFlYjhubFhGcm5JcTZ6eVc4LUhEdURYNW9GSDlkQ0N4dThsUXFTM2VoUnpxYzV4alZCd3dQ?oc=5 ↩

  3. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.14262 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40478572/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  5. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12883-023-03445-7 ↩

Graph View