Out of all tDCS and TMS non-pharmacologic treatment alternatives, rTMS provides the most promising and significant way to reduce headache intensity, frequency, duration, functional impairment, depression, and abortive medication use, evident from the recently published systemic review the Journal of headache.

Data were extracted from the Cochrane Central Register of Clinical Trials, Scopus, PsycINFO, Embase and Ovid MEDLINE and examined by two independent researchers. Records were chosen as per the inclusion criteria for participants (age of 18‐65 years old with primary or secondary headaches), study type (case‐control, randomized controlled trials [RCT], and cohort), comparators (sham or alternative standard of care), and interventions (tDCS and TMS applied as headache treatment). The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and the GRADE Tool were used to assess the studies and overall quality, respectively. Further, because of the heterogeneity of methods and participants, a structured synthesis was conducted.

A total of 34 studies were involved; 6 TMS, 12 tDCS, and 16 rTMS. Eight out of 12 tDCS and 19 out of 22 TMS were used mainly to treat migraine. The quality of evidence was low to high. Additional high-quality randomized controlled trials with standardized protocols are needed for every specific headache disorder to verify the effect of treatment.