Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined With Aerobic Exercise for the Treatment of Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with aerobic exercise in the short, medium, and long term. Methods: Two-arms triple-blind randomized controlled trial. Thirty-eight subjects with a diagnosis of nonspecific chronic low back pain. Experimental group will receive real-tDCS and aerobic exercise and control group will be treated with sham tDCS and aerobic exercise. Pain intensity, pressure pain, disability, kinesiophobia, quality of life, catastrophism, heart rate variability, and critical flicker fusion frequency will be measured before and after each session and at 3- and 6-month follow-up. Discussion and Conclusion: This study introduces the novel measurement of heart rate variability and cortical arousal to explore their potential in understanding the effects of tDCS on pain modulation. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05830851. Date of registration: April 14, 2023.