The effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on static balance in people with knee osteoarthritis

Evaluation of the effect of tDCS on static postural balance in subjects with KOA during static standing

This study is a Double-blind, crossover, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial. This experiment explores the effect of tDCS on static postural balance parameters in people with mild to moderate KOA. Static postural balance parameters will be assessed while standing barefoot on a force plate under open and closed eye conditions.

This study is a Double-blind, crossover, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial that will be conducted in the Musculoskeletal Research Center at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The participants will be masked to the stimulation condition. A researcher (assessor), unaware of the stimulation conditions (real and sham), will assess static balance in two conditions of open and closed eye, before and after the interventions (real and sham).

Inclusion Criteria: Age of 45–70 years, Radiological signs of mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis according to K-L scale, Pain and tenderness in medial side of knee joint (VAS > 3), Walking without use of assistive devices Exclusion Criteria: Any neurological disorders that would influence balance, Taken medication that affects balance control, Previous knee injury or surgery, Fracture of either lower extremity within 6 months, Any congenital or acquired musculoskeletal disorder in lower extremity, Presence of any inflammatory arthritis, Any contraindication to apply tDCS such as head implants, history of epilepsy/seizure or brain tumors, and pregnancy

Each participant will be exposed counterbalanced randomly to two experimental conditions, including real tDCS and sham tDCS with a one-week washout period.

Static Balance

This study does not have a control group. All participants will be exposed counterbalanced randomly to two experimental conditions, including real tDCS and sham tDCS with a one-week washout period. All participants will be randomly assigned (1:1), using a web-based randomisation system (http://www.randomization.com), to receive real and sham tDCS, based on the block randomization method, in which the block size is 2 and the number of blocks is 13. The researcher who assigns the volunteers to groups based on the random list is different from the researcher who performs the treatment.

The participants will be masked to the stimulation condition. A researcher (assessor), unaware of the stimulation conditions (real and sham), will assess static balance in two conditions of open and closed eye, before and after the interventions (real and sham).