Zapping the brain or spine to ease stubborn pain: which works best?
NCT ID NCT02817880
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested three types of non-invasive brain or spinal stimulation (tDCS, rTMS, and tsDCS) to see which best reduces pain in people with algoneurodystrophy, a chronic pain condition. 36 adults who had pain for over a year and didn't respond to drugs took part. The goal was to compare how well each method eases pain and improves quality of life.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- brain and spinal stimulation devices (tDCS, rTMS, tsDCS)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a non-drug option for managing long-term pain in algoneurodystrophy.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed study with only 36 participants, so results may not apply widely. The effects may be modest or temporary.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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36 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jul 2016
- Finished
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Feb 2022
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 80 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Patient's written consent * Patient suffering from an algoneurodystrophy for more than a year. * Diagnosis of algoneurodystrophy confirmed by an osseous scintigraphy * Stable treatment for at least 1 month * Patient non-responsive to pharmacological treatments * VNS \> 3 at the time of screening Exclusion Criteria: * Drug addiction * History of epilepsy, head trauma, Psychiatric pathology likely to hamper the progress of the study. * Intracranial ferromagnetic material or an implanted stimulator * MRI contraindication * Algoneurodystrophy due to a nervous lesion * Pregnant women, parturient women, breast-feeding mother. Lack of effective contraception
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Centre de la douleur, CHU Grenoble Alpes
Grenoble, Isere, 38043, France
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Service de Physiologie - Explorations Fonctionnelles, Hôpital Henri Mondor
Créteil, Île-de-France Region, 94010, France
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