Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends on Tuina Manipulation for Neck Pain Treatment Over the Past 10 Years

Abstract

Tuina is an effective treatment for neck pain (NP). However, there has been no bibliometric analysis of the global application and emerging trends of tuina performed for NP. Therefore, this study aimed to provide an overview of the current state and future trends in the field. Articles about tuina for NP, published from January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2023, were searched in the Web of Science Core Collection database. CiteSpace (6.1.R6) and VOSviewer (1.6.18) software were used to analyze annual trends in literature posts, countries, institutions, authors, cited references, and knowledge graphs of keyword co-occurrence, clustering, and burst using standard bibliometric indicators. The final analysis comprised 505 valid documents. The results demonstrate that the number of articles in the field of tuina therapy for NP has gradually increased over the years, showing the most active countries, institutions, journals, and authors. There were 323 keywords in the field, 322 research authors, and 292 research institutions, with the USA having the most publications (n = 140). The most published institution is Vrije University Amsterdam, and the most published journal is the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Peter R Blanpied is the most influential and most-cited author. Interventions (dry needling, massage therapy, and muscle energy techniques), common treatment sites for NP (upper trapezius), and complications (cervicogenic headache) are the top three frontiers mentioned in the field of tuina research for NP. The bibliometric study showed the current status and trends in clinical research on treating patients with NP using tuina, which may help researchers identify topics of interest and scope for future research in this field.

Keywords:

• tuina
• neck pain
• CiteSpace
• VOSviewer
• knowledge graph analysis

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Is Standardization the Future of Traditional Chinese Tuina (Massage) Therapy? - A Reflection on “Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends on Tuina Manipulation for Neck Pain Treatment Over the Past 10 Years” [Letter]

Data Sharing Statement

Raw data can be obtained directly from the WOSCC.

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 82174526, 82274676), The science and technology innovation Program of Hunan Province (grant number: 2022RC1221), Hunan Provincial Education Department Postgraduate Research Innovation Program (grant number: 2022CX18), National Grand Innovation Program (grant number: S202010541023), and the Hunan Provincial Health Commission Project (grant number: 202209024063).