Comparative study between transcranial direct current and repetitive transcranial electromagnetic stimulation in the rehabilitation of primary fibromyalgia

Abstract

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) is a common chronic musculoskeletal disorder characterized by the presence of widespread pain and multiple tender points on physical examination Other important accompanying symptoms of FM are fatigue, sleep disturbance, psychological distress, and cognitive disturbance (Clauw, 2014). Several factors are associated with the pathophysiology of FMS, but the causal relationship is still unclear. This includes alterations of central pain pathways, hyporeactivity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, increased systemic pro-inflammatory, and reduced anti-inflammatory cytokine profiles, and disturbance in the dopaminergic and serotonergic system (McBeth et al., 2007).