Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on balance improvement: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Author: de Moura MCDS1, Hazime FA2, Marotti Aparicio LV3, Grecco LAC4, Brunoni AR3,5, Hasue RH1
Affiliation:
1a Department of Physical Therapy, Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine , University of São Paulo , São Paulo , Brazil.
2b Department of Physical Therapy , Federal University of Piauí , Piauí , Brazil.
3c Service of Interdisciplinary Neuromodulation, Laboratory of Neurosciences (LIM-27) and National Institute of Biomarkers in Psychiatry (INBioN), Department and Institute of Psychiatry, Hospital of Clinics, Faculty of Medicine , University of São Paulo , São Paulo , Brazil.
4d Physioterapy Course , University of Sorocaba , Sorocaba , Brazil.
5e Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , Ludwig-Maximilians-University , Munich , Germany.
Conference/Journal: Somatosens Mot Res.
Date published: 2019 Jun
Other:
Volume ID: 36 , Issue ID: 2 , Pages: 122-135 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1080/08990220.2019.1624517. Epub 2019 Jun 11. , Word Count: 232
Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has emerged as a promising therapeutic tool to improve balance and optimize rehabilitation strategies. However, current literature shows the methodological heterogeneity of tDCS protocols and results, hindering any clear conclusions about the effects of tDCS on postural control. Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of tDCS on postural control, and identify the most beneficial target brain areas and the effect on different populations. Methods: Two independent reviewers selected randomized tDCS clinical-trials studies from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and reference lists of retrieved articles published between 1998 and 2017. Most frequently reported centre of pressure (COP) variables were selected for meta-analysis. Other postural control outcomes were discussed in the review. Results: Thirty studies were included in the systematic review, and 11 were submitted to a meta-analysis. A reduction of COP displacement area has been significantly achieved by tDCS, evidencing an improvement in balance control. Individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) and healthy young adults are mostly affected by stimulation. The analysis of the impact of tDCS over different brain areas revealed a significant effect after primary motor cortex (M1) stimulation, however, with no clear results after cerebellar stimulation due to divergent results among studies. Conclusions: tDCS appears to improve balance control, more evident in healthy and CP subjects. Effects are observed when primary MI is stimulated. Cerebellar stimulation should be better investigated.
KEYWORDS: Postural balance; meta-analysis; transcranial direct current stimulation
PMID: 31181963 DOI: 10.1080/08990220.2019.1624517
BACK
