Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Reducing Anxiety in Martial Athletes

Since the anxiety is one of the effective factors in athletes, The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on reducing anxiety in Martial Athletes.
The research method was semi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and control group. The statistical population of the present study consisted of all Martial Athletes in Ardabil in 2022. 30 people were selected by available sampling method and randomly assigned in experimental and control group (15 people in each group). Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was implemented in 10 sessions, each session lasting 20 minutes, but the control group received no training. Data was collected using State-Trait Anxiety Questionnaire (Moritz, 1990), which were administered in two stages of pre-test and post-test. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).
The results showed that there was a significant difference between the post-test scores of the experimental group compared to the control group. In other words, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) led to a significant increase in the self-confidence scores and a significant decrease in the physical and cognitive anxiety scores of the athletes (P<0.05).
According to the results of this study, the treatment of transcranial direct current stimulation is an effective intervention on reducing anxiety in Martial Athletes and is a suitable, low-cost and accessible way that athletes can use.