The effect of intermittent theta burst stimulation on central poststroke pain: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

Pain scores improved after five real iTBS sessions but not after sham in this small pilot. Larger studies are needed before the result can guide routine poststroke-pain care.

Son S, Lee S, You J, Kim JK, Lim JY.
Medicine · Publication date: 2026-10-02
Added to site: 2026-10-03
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000050963

Publication date verified in PubMed and Crossref. This source date is separate from the site's addition date.

Modalities

iTBS, TMS

Clinical focus

Central poststroke pain, Neuropathic pain, Motor-cortex stimulation

Population

Patients with central poststroke pain meeting PainDetect, LANSS and DN4 neuropathic-pain criteria

Sample

20 patients total; arm-specific allocation was not provided in the checked abstract

Intervention / method

Five sessions of real or sham intermittent theta-burst stimulation were delivered to the motor cortex, with four pain scales assessed before the first session and after the fifth

Comparator

Real iTBS versus sham iTBS

Clinician summary

PainDetect, LANSS, DN4 and numeric-rating scores decreased significantly within the real-iTBS group but not within the sham group. The abstract reports no adverse effects during the sessions.

How to interpret the findings

The trial included only 20 participants and the abstract does not report arm sizes, between-group interaction estimates, effect sizes, confidence intervals, allocation concealment, assessor blinding or follow-up beyond the fifth session. A significant change in one arm but not another is not itself proof of a between-group difference.

Equipment and disclosures

iTBS was delivered to the motor cortex. The checked abstract does not identify the coil, navigation method, stimulator or manufacturer.

The authors reported no funding and no conflicts of interest.

Related evidence

Compare findings from the same clinical area, including mixed results.

• Motor Cortex rTMS Alleviates Pain and Comorbid Depression After Spinal Cord Injury with a Correlate in M1 Intracortical Inhibition. · Positive with limitations