TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION AND NEURAL MOBILIZATION IN INDIVIDUALS WITH CHRONIC SCIATIC PAIN: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED AND BLIND TRIAL
Leg pain related to LBP; Chronic pain; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; Neural Mobilization.
Introduction: Low Back Pain (LBP) is the most prevalent symptom in the world population. Leg pain related to LBP is among its most frequent clinical presentations, with a specific cause. Neural Mobilization (NM) is an active approach recommended for the treatment of this condition with a focus on the peripheric nerves. In a condition of chronic pain, maladaptive neuroplasticity occurs, through the mechanism of central sensitization. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) emerges as an alternative treatment for this aspect of sciatic pain, in an attempt to modulate the activity of neural circuits. Objective: To verify if the effects of tDCS add benefits to the improvement of pain intensity, neuropathic symptoms and functional limitation in individuals with chronic leg pain related to LBP when associated with MN techniques. Method: Randomized Controlled Trial, to be performed with people with chronic leg pain related to LBP. The primary outcomes are pain intensity and functional limitation. There will be two groups: Experimental Group (active tDCS and MN) and Control Group (sham tDCS and MN). The evaluation will be carried out before and after the intervention protocol, and in the follow-up of seven, fourteen and thirty days. The following tools will be used to measure the variables: END, DN-4 and PD-Q for pain intensity and characterization, RMDQ for functional capacity and the Brief Psychological Screening Questions to screening psychosocial aspects, in addition to the Global Perceived Effect Scale. The data will be analyzed by the SPSS software, Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Levene tests will be applied to verify the normality and homogeneity of the data, assuming its normality, a mixed ANOVA will be performed for comparison over time. The statistical significance level considered is 5% and the confidence interval is 95%.