Repetitive Magnetic Stimulation for the Management of Peripheral Neuropathic Pain: A Systematic Review

Repetitive magnetic stimulation (rMS) is a safe and well-tolerated intervention. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is used for the treatment of depression and for the treatment and prevention of migraine. Over the last few years, several reports and randomised controlled studies of the use of rMS for the treatment of pain have been published. The aim of this systematic review was to identify the available literature regarding the use of rMS in the treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain. After a systematic Medline search we identified 12 papers eligible to be included in this review. The majority of the studies were on patients with phantom limb pain, followed by radiculopathy, plexopathy, post-traumatic pain and peripheral neuropathy. The treatment protocols vary significantly from study to study and, therefore, pooling the results together is currently difficult. However, rMS has a definite immediate effect in pain relief which, in the majority of studies, is maintained for a few weeks. rMS seems to be a promising intervention in the treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain. Further research is in the field is needed. Use of neuronavigation might increase the precision of stimulation and subsequently its effectiveness.