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Effects of tDCS and tUS on Pain Perception in OA of the Knee

CompletedNot applicableNCT02330315
View the official record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Recruiting status changes often. Contact the study team listed on ClinicalTrials.gov, and talk to your doctor before joining a study.

This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.

Brief summary (from the registry)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in conjunction with transcranial ultrasound (TUS) on pain perception and functional limitations in people with osteoarthritis of the knee. The investigators hypothesize that there will be a decrease in pain levels with active stimulation, when compared to sham stimulation.

Study details

Official title
Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Transcranial Ultrasound (TUS) on the Perception of Pain and Functional Limitations Due to Osteoarthritis of the Knee.
Interventions
Sponsor
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
Collaborators
Highland Instruments, Inc.
Start date
2015-03
Primary completion
2016-06
Sex
All
Age range
from 18 Years to 85 Years
Results posted
No results posted in this snapshot
Countries
United States
Total sites listed
1

Eligibility criteria

Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Able to provide informed consent to participate in the study. 2. Subjects between 18-85 years old. 3. Diagnosis of chronic osteoarthritis with pain of either the knee as self-reported. Prior to beginning baseline procedures this must be confirmed by medical records or a letter from the subject's physician. This document may either be brought in by the subject or retrieved by study staff after a medical release form is signed by the subject. After consent, if the subject fails to provide the necessary documentation or it cannot be retrieved by study staff the subject will be considered a screen fail. 4. Existing knee pain in the past 6 months of at least 3 on a 0-10 VAS scale on average. 5. Pain resistant to common analgesics and medications for chronic pain used as initial pain management such as Tylenol, Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Soma, Parafon Forte DCS, Zanaflex, and Codeine. 6. Having the ability to feel pain as self-reported Exclusion Criteria: 1. Pregnancy or trying to become pregnant in the next 6 months. 2. History of alcohol or drug abuse within the past 6 months as self-reported. 3. Contraindications to transcranial brain stimulation or TUS, i.e. implanted brain medical devices or implanted brain metallic devices. 4. Unstable medical conditions (e.g. uncontrolled diabetes, uncompensated cardiac issues, heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). 5. Epilepsy. 6. Use of carbamazepine within the past 6 months as self-reported. 7. Suffering from severe depression (with a score of \>30 in the Beck Depression Inventory) 8. History of unexplained fainting spells as self-reported. 9. Head injury resulting in more than a momentary loss of consciousness 10. History of neurosurgery as self-reported.

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02330315