Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with acupuncture therapy on brain network functional connectivity in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a single-center randomized controlled trial.
Qiu Nie, Fang He, Linghui Dong and 4 others
PMID 40660313WHAT IT FOUND
Combining brain stimulation with acupuncture reduced knee pain and stiffness more than either treatment alone after two weeks.
All three groups improved, but the combined group had significantly lower pain scores than the acupuncture or stimulation groups.
Key findings
01The combined group had significantly lower pain scores than both the acupuncture and tDCS groups after two weeks.
02The combined group had significantly better physical function scores than both single-treatment groups.
03No significant difference was found in the Lequesne index between the combined group and the single-treatment groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study duration was short (two weeks), so long-term effects are unknown. fNIRS data was only successfully collected from 30 of the 60 patients due to signal quality issues, limiting the conclusions about brain mechanisms. The sample size was small, and the study was single-centre. Psychological factors like anxiety and depression, which often accompany chronic pain, were not assessed. Blinding was limited to evaluators; therapists and patients knew which treatment they were receiving, which may influence subjective pain scores.
Declared interests
Funded by the Nanchong Science and Technology Bureau. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the brain connectivity findings are robust. The fNIRS analysis was only possible for half the participants due to technical issues, and the primary clinical outcomes (pain and function) showed no difference in the Lequesne index between groups, suggesting the combined therapy's superiority is specific to certain pain and stiffness measures rather than all functional outcomes.