Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for motor recovery of the upper limb after stroke

Objective: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation changes excitability of the motor cortex and it has hereby the potential to modulate changes in neural processing which impede motor recovery after stroke. Methods: This chapter presents an up-to-day systematic review of the treatment effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in promoting motor recovery of the affected upper limb after stroke. Results: Thirty-seven trials were included in the analysis. The selected studies involved a total of 871 stroke subjects. All stimulation protocols pride on interhemispheric imbalance model. Interpretation: rTMS enhances motor recovery of the affected hand after stroke; however, the data available until today is too limited to support its routine use.