The effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on refractory neuropathic pain in spinal cord injury

This study investigates if a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), can reduce chronic nerve pain in patients with spinal cord injuries (SCI). rTMS uses magnetic pulses to alter brain activity. The study compared real rTMS to a sham treatment. Patients received ten daily sessions of either real or sham rTMS, and their pain levels were assessed at baseline, 10 days, 6 weeks, and 6 months after treatment. The results showed both real and sham rTMS reduced pain. However, the pain relief wasn't significantly different between the two groups, suggesting the benefit might be due to a placebo effect. The researchers suggest further studies with more patients.

• 1
  Both real and sham rTMS significantly reduced pain scores (VAS) in patients with SCI and neuropathic pain.
• 2
  The real rTMS group showed significant pain reduction at 10 days and 6 weeks compared to baseline, while the sham group only showed a significant reduction at 10 days.
• 3
  There was no significant difference between the real and sham rTMS groups in terms of pain scores or patient satisfaction at any assessment point.