Brain Stimul
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Prefrontal versus motor cortex transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) effects on post-surgical opioid use.
Pain is often a complaint that precedes total knee arthroplasty (TKA), however the procedure itself is associated with considerable post-operative pain lasting days to weeks which can predict longer-term surgical outcomes. Previously, we reported significant opioid-sparing effects of motor cortex transcranial direct current stimulation from a single-blind trial. In the present study, we used double-blind methodology to compare motor cortex tDCS and prefrontal cortex tDCS to both sham and active-control (active electrodes over non-pain modulating brain areas) tDCS. ⋯ Results from this double-blind cortical-target-optimization study suggest that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left prefrontal cortex may be a reasonable approach to reducing post-TKA opioid requirements. Given the unexpected finding that motor cortex failed to produce an opioid sparing effect in this follow-up trial, further research in the area of post-operative cortical stimulation is still needed.
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Randomized clinical trials (RCT) demonstrated that auricular acupuncture (AA) is effective in treatment of acute and chronic pain, although the mechanisms behind AA are not elucidated. ⋯ Considering the clinical data relating to the anatomy of neural pathways and experimental findings of the mechanisms of transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation, the analgesic effects of AA may be explained by stimulation of ABVN.