{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T05:24:58Z","timestamp":1787117098344,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787097600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNLBP) is a prevalent condition associated with substantial disability and a marked reduction in quality of life. First\u2011line treatments, such as pharmacotherapy and physical therapy, often have limited effectiveness. This systematic review and meta\u2011analysis evaluated the efficacy of transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) modalities, including transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), high\u2011definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD\u2011tDCS), and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), for the treatment of CNLBP.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A comprehensive search was conducted across six electronic databases, and 19 randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 15 studies evaluated conventional tDCS, two evaluated high\u2011definition tDCS, one evaluated high\u2011definition transcranial infraslow pink\u2011noise stimulation (HD\u2011tIPNS), and one evaluated tACS.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The pooled results showed that single\u2011session tDCS did not significantly reduce pain intensity compared with sham. However, when combined with physical or behavioral interventions, tDCS was associated with significant pain reduction. Subgroup analyses showed no significant differences in outcomes according to stimulation target, including the primary motor cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Although tDCS showed promise as an adjunct for pain relief, its effects on functional disability and psychological outcomes were less conclusive. Further high\u2011quality studies are needed to optimize stimulation protocols and clarify the role of tDCS as an adjunct to other therapeutic approaches.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Systematic review registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:ext-link>https:\/\/www.crd.york.ac.uk\/prospero\/display_record.php?ID=CRD420261298298<\/jats:ext-link>\n                      , CRD420261298298.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2026.1797108","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T04:37:25Z","timestamp":1787114245000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Efficacy of transcranial electrical stimulation in the treatment of chronic nonspecific low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Yuchen","family":"Zhou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Science, Ningbo University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yifei","family":"Shou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Science, Ningbo University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sitong","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Science, Ningbo University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junqi","family":"Jia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Science, Ningbo University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chuang","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Science, Ningbo University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yufei","family":"Fang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Ningbo No. 2 Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhiqiang","family":"Liang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Science, Ningbo University","place":["Ningbo, China"]},{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Ningbo No. 2 Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1204","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(20)30925-9","article-title":"Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the 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