International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift für Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de réadaptation
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Review Meta Analysis
Effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with fibromyalgia: a meta-analysis.
Even though repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been used for a decade for the treatment of fibromyalgia, evidence of its effectiveness has not been definitely presented. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is evidence of rTMS being effective in decreasing the severity of pain among patients with fibromyalgia. CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, SCOPUS, WEB OF SCIENCE, and relevant references of the identified studies were searched. ⋯ Pain severity before and 1 week to 1 month after the last stimulation decreased by -0.7 points (95% confidence interval: -1.0 to -0.3). Both pooled results were below the minimal clinically important difference of 1.5 points. There is moderate evidence that rTMS is not more effective than sham in reducing the severity of pain in fibromyalgia patients, questioning the routine recommendation of this method for fibromyalgia treatment.