Analysis of Acupoint Selection Rules for Guasha Treatment of Primary Headaches Based on Data Mining

Abstract

Objective

We aimed to understand the commonly used acupoints and the acupoint combination rules in Guasha therapy for primary headaches using data mining technology, providing a reference for the clinical application of Guasha therapy for primary headaches.

Methods

Literature related to Guasha therapy for primary headaches in PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database were searched, up until May 12, 2023. A database of acupoints for Guasha therapy for primary headaches was established in Excel. The frequency of the acupoints used for Guasha in therapy of primary headaches were calculated by SPSS 25.0. The association rules between the acupoints were further described using SPSS Modeler 18.0.

Results

A total of 67 papers were included, involving 51 acupoints for Guasha against primary headaches. The most commonly used acupoints were Fengchi, Baihui, Taiyang, Shuaigu, Tianzhu, and Hegu. The common acupoint combinations for Guasha therapy for primary headaches were Fengchi-Taiyang, Fengchi-Baihui, Fengchi-Taiyang-Baihui, Fengchi-Tianzhu-Baihui, and Fengchi-Shuaigu-Taiyang-Baihui.

Conclusion

Data mining can effectively analyze the commonly used acupoints and the acupoint combination rules in Guasha therapy for primary headaches, providing a reliable basis for clinical acupoint selection.

Keywords:

• primary headache
• Guasha
• data mining
• acupoint selection rules
• Chinese medicine nursing

Disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by [Zhejiang Province Chinese Medicine Scientific Research Fund Project] [number 2021ZA055], [Zhejiang Province Science and Technology Plan Project] [number 2023C03165].