Light and magnetic fields
Stimulation
Energy applied from outside the body — near-infrared light, or a magnetic field delivered through the scalp — to change how neurons fire or how cells produce energy. Neither is painful. Magnetic stimulation has the firmer footing of the two, particularly for the hemiparetic upper limb when it is paired with intensive physiotherapy or occupational therapy, and for repetitive behaviours; photobiomodulation is earlier, with a steadily growing and largely positive literature. What neither has yet is the large, long trial that would settle how big the effect is and how long it lasts.
These are generally considered for a child who has not responded adequately to conventional care, or whose progress has plateaued. Where conventional treatment is not yet fully in place, establishing it first will usually achieve more.
Photobiomodulation
Non-invasive, painless and simple to deliver compared with cell therapies, with a literature that is growing quickly and is mostly positive. The studies are still small and short, so the open question is not whether anything happens but how large the effect is and how long it lasts.
Transcranial near-infrared light, low-level laser therapy, PBM
In clinical trialsMagnetic stimulation
The most clinically established technique on this site. Approved for some uses in older adolescents, with its best paediatric results when it is paired with intensive physiotherapy or occupational therapy rather than given on its own.
rTMS, theta-burst stimulation, TMS