The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Hum. Neurosci.
Sec. Brain Imaging and Stimulation
Volume 18 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1427091
This article is part of the Research Topic Women in Brain Imaging and Stimulation Volume II: 2024 View all 5 articles
Exploring The Use of Bimodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Enhance Movement in Individuals with Patellofemoral Pain -A Sham-Controlled Double Blinded Pilot Study
Provisionally accepted- University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
In individuals with patellofemoral pain (PFP), addressing increased knee valgus during weight-bearing activities typically involves strengthening weak hip muscles. However, recent literature highlights the role of altered descending central control in abnormal movements associated with PFP. While transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has demonstrated the capacity to enhance neuroplasticity, its application targeting the corticomotor function of gluteal muscles in PFP remains unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the effects of combining bimodal tDCS with exercise on frontal plane kinematics in individuals with PFP. The hypothesis was that bimodal tDCS, specifically targeting the corticomotor function of the gluteal muscles, would augment the effectiveness of exercise interventions in improving frontal plane kinematics compared to sham stimulation. Ten participants with PFP participated in two sessions involving either bimodal tDCS or sham stimulation, concurrently with hip strengthening exercises. Weight-bearing tasks, including single leg squat, single leg landing, single leg hop, forward step down, and lateral step down, were performed and recorded before and after each session. Pain visual analog scale (VAS) scores were also documented. A one-way ANOVA with repeated measures was employed to compare kinematics, while a Friedman test was used to compare VAS across the three conditions (pre-test, post-tDCS, and post-Sham). Results revealed no significant differences in trunk lean angle, hip and knee frontal plane projection angles, or dynamic valgus index among the three conditions during the five weight-bearing tasks. VAS scores did not differ across the three conditions. In conclusion, a single session of tDCS did not demonstrate immediate efficacy in enhancing frontal plane kinematics or relieving pain in individuals with PFP. Considering observed positive outcomes in other neurological and orthopedic populations with multi-session tDCS applications, suggesting potential cumulative effects, further research is essential to explore the effects of multi-session tDCS on weight-bearing movement and underlying neurophysiology in individuals with PFP.
Keywords: Patellofemoral pain, transcranial direct current stimulation, Knee valgus, noninvasive brain stimulation, cortical excitability, Central activation
Received: 02 May 2024; Accepted: 05 Aug 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Ho, Wallace, Aquino, Broadwell, Whimple and Liang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jing Nong Liang, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, 89154, Nevada, United States
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.