Efficacy of combined repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and occupational therapy in spinal cord injury patients: a randomized controlled clinical study.
Adding rTMS improved arm-function and independence measures, but pain, spasticity and depression scores rose in both groups.
Cho DY, Lee HJ, Lim JE, Lee JM, Kim O.
Spinal cord · Publication date: 2026-09-22
Added to site: 2026-09-23
DOI: 10.1038/s41393-026-01274-2
Electronic publication date verified in Europe PMC; first indexed 2026-09-22. This source date is separate from the site's addition date.
- Modalities
- rTMS, Occupational therapy
- Clinical focus
- Spinal cord injury, Upper-limb function
- Population
- Patients with cervical spinal cord injury
- Sample
- 29 participants: 14 active and 15 sham
- Intervention / method
- Occupational therapy plus active or sham rTMS, three times weekly for five weeks
- Comparator
- Occupational therapy plus sham rTMS
Clinician summary
Active treatment favored upper-limb measures and KSCIM-III. Depression scores increased significantly in both arms; shoulder pain increased significantly in controls.
How to interpret the findings
Small sample. Abstract lacks effect estimates, long-term outcomes and detailed adverse-event assessment. Functional gains do not erase unfavorable secondary outcomes.
Equipment and disclosures
Stimulation hardware and dosing details were unavailable in the checked abstract.
Publisher acknowledgements identify Korean rehabilitation research grant NRCTR-IN19002. The publisher's visible declaration reports no competing interests; full text was not reviewed.
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
- Combined repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and mirror therapy for upper limb rehabilitation in stroke survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. · Positive with limitations
- Operant Conditioning of the Motor Evoked Potential in Forearm Extensors of Individuals with Chronic Incomplete Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Case Studies. · Positive with limitations
Summary prepared with AI assistance. Source verification does not imply an independent replication or a clinician's endorsement. Read our review method.