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. 2020 Oct 2;99(40):e20606.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000020606.

Gua sha therapy for chronic low back pain: A protocol for systematic review

Yu-Wei Wang  1 , Zhen-Wen Xi  1 , Bin Pu  1 , Guang-Yan Chen  1 , Yu-Feng Ma  1 , Ding-Long Liu  1 , Xiao Xu  2
Affiliations

Gua sha therapy for chronic low back pain: A protocol for systematic review

Yu-Wei Wang et al. Medicine (Baltimore). .

Abstract

Background: Non-specific chronic low back pain (LBP) is a debilitating disease that profoundly impacts patients' daily physical function and quality of life. Gua sha therapy, as an easy-to-use and noninvasive complementary modality, has been widely used clinically in patients with non-specific chronic LBP. The aim of this study is to test the potential benefits and harms of gua sha therapy on patients with non-specific chronic LBP.

Methods: Ten English databases, 3 Korean databases, 6 Chinese databases, 1 Japanese database, and 2 Brazilian databases will be searched from their inception to September 2019. Randomized controlled trials will be included if gua sha therapy was used as the sole treatment or as a part of combination therapy with other treatments in patients with non-specific chronic LBP. Two reviewers will independently extract the data and assess the methodological quality using the Cochrane criteria for risk of bias. The meta-analysis will be performed using Review Manager 5.3 software.

Results: The findings of this systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Conclusion: This systematic review will provide more evidence regarding the clinical usage of gua sha therapy for non-specific chronic LBP.

Trial registration number: CRD42019134567.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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