Objective  To systematically evaluate the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on lower extremity motor function in stroke patients.

Methods Randomized controlled trials of tDCS for lower extremity motor function in stroke patients were searched in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, CBM, Clinical Trials and Chinese Clinical Trial Registry from the establishment of the databases to March 2024. Stata 17 and Revman 5.4 softwares were used for Meta-analysis.

Results  A total of 21 researches were included, including 1 079 stroke patients. The results of the Meta-analysis showed that compared with conventional rehabilitation measures, tDCS can improve lower extremity motor function [WMD=1.99, 95%CI (1.14, 2.84), P<0.001] and activities of daily living [SMD=0.90, 95%CI (0.63, 1.16), P<0.001] in stroke patients. The results of subgroup analysis showed that stroke patients who accept bilateral stimulation [WMD=2.37, 95%CI (0.92, 3.82), P<0.001] and whose intervention period>2 weeks [WMD=2.31, 95%CI (0.98, 3.63), P<0.001] had more improvement.

Conclusion  tDCS can improve the lower extremity motor function and activities of daily living in stroke patients. Bilateral stimulation and intervention period of at least 2 weeks are recommended.

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