New Treatment for Patients with Chronic Pelvic Pain

The Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital’s Laboratory of Neuromodulation and Center for Clinical Research Learning, located in Boston, seeks to investigate the main techniques of neuromodulation, including the mechanisms of action used in neuropsychiatric conditions.  Currently, the lab is running an experiment for patients with chronic pelvic pain, investigating the use of non-invasive brain stimulation for treatment. So far, there have been positive results to this population,  The techniques employed focus on the modulation of neural activity through the application of painless electrical impulses, using transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS).  

This study may give some insights to the treatment of symptoms surrounding chronic pelvic pain. The lab’s preliminary results suggest that tDCS will indeed have a positive impact in the treatment of this condition, including an improvement in quality of life and lowering pain levels. In the current study,  subjects receive a total of 10 consecutive sessions of either active tDCS or sham tDCS over a two-week period (administered every day during weekdays over the course of two weeks). During each session, the anode electrode is placed on the primary motor cortex (contralateral to the most (or predominant) painful side (or the side where the symptoms begin)) and the cathode is placed over the contralateral supra-orbital area. In active tDCS subjects, 2 mA of transcranial direct current stimulation is applied for 20 minutes. The electrodes have the size of 35cm 2  each.

The lab’s website is   www.neuromodulationlab.org – additional information can be seen on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp6bBs16g28

Note: Any statements in regard to the methods or outcomes of this study, and any resulting treatment advocated by the Laboratory of Neuromodulation and Center for Clinical Research Learning, should not be seen as an official endorsement by the Internation Pelvic Pain Society, its Board of Directors or its members.