The effect of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on anxiety in Veteran and Disabled Athletes

Anxiety means threats and insecurity whose source is not clear to the individual. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on anxiety in Veterans and Disabled Athletes.

The method of this study was semi-experimental. Twenty-four veterans and disabled members of Board of Veterans and Disabled in Ahvaz city were selected by available sampling. First, all participants completed the Beck Anxiety and State-Competitive Anxiety questionnaire. The participants were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Experimental group received tDCS intervention for three consecutive days. After the last intervention session, once again, all participants completed the Beck Anxiety and State-Competitive Anxiety questionnaire. ANCOVA test was used to compare post-test of two groups.

The results showed that tDCS intervention had a significant effect on general anxiety (p=0.001) and state-competitive anxiety (p=0.001) and anxiety level in experimental group better than the sham group (p < 0.05).

tDCS with Two-mA intensity during 3 sessions of 20 minutes can improve the performance of general anxiety and state-competitive anxiety in veterans and disabled athletes. Therefore, it is recommended that coaches, those involved, and veteran and disabled athletes use tDCS interventions to improve and control their anxiety whenever possible on the days leading up to the competition.