Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Dec 22:16:1096734.
doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1096734. eCollection 2022.

Tuina for peripherally-induced neuropathic pain: A review of analgesic mechanism

Zhi-Feng Liu  1 , Hou-Rong Wang  2 , Tian-Yuan Yu  2 , Ying-Qi Zhang  2 , Yi Jiao  3 , Xi-You Wang  1
Affiliations
Review

Tuina for peripherally-induced neuropathic pain: A review of analgesic mechanism

Zhi-Feng Liu et al. Front Neurosci. .

Abstract

Peripherally-induced neuropathic pain (pNP) is a kind of NP that is common, frequent, and difficult to treat. Tuina, also known as massage and manual therapy, has been used to treat pain in China for thousands of years. It has been clinically proven to be effective in the treatment of pNP caused by cervical spondylosis, lumbar disc herniation, etc. However, its analgesic mechanism is still not clear and has been the focus of research. In this review, we summarize the existing research progress, so as to provide guidance for clinical and basic studies. The analgesic mechanism of tuina is mainly manifested in suppressing peripheral inflammation by regulating the TLR4 pathway and miRNA, modulating ion channels (such as P2X3 and piezo), inhibiting the activation of glial cells, and adjusting the brain functional alterations. Overall, tuina has an analgesic effect by acting on different levels of targets, and it is an effective therapy for the treatment of pNP. It is necessary to continue to study the mechanism of tuina analgesia.

Keywords: brain function; glial cells; inflammation; neuropathic pain; peripheral nerve injury; tuina.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The analgesic mechanism of tuina [images with permission created with BioRender. https://biorender.com (2022)].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Aboagye E., Lilje S., Bengtsson C., Peterson A., Persson U., Skillgate E. (2022). Manual therapy versus advice to stay active for nonspecific back and/or neck pain: A cost-effectiveness analysis. Chiropr. Man. Therap. 30:27. 10.1186/s12998-022-00431-7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Agalave N. M., Larsson M., Abdelmoaty S., Su J., Baharpoor A., Lundbäck P., et al. (2014). Spinal HMGB1 induces TLR4-mediated long-lasting hypersensitivity and glial activation and regulates pain-like behavior in experimental arthritis. Pain 155 1802–1813. 10.1016/j.pain.2014.06.007 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alles S. R. A., Smith P. A. (2018). Etiology and pharmacology of neuropathic pain. Pharmacol. Rev. 70 315–347. 10.1124/pr.117.014399 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cao S., Chen Y., Zhang F., Sun S., Wang C., Hou G., et al. (2021). Clinical efficacy and safety of “three-dimensional balanced manipulation” in the treatment of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy by finite element analysis. Biomed Res. Int. 2021:5563296. 10.1155/2021/5563296 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen L., Lin Z., Zhang H., Jiang Y., Chen J., Chen S. (2022). Effects of tuina on P2X3 receptor expression and inward current in dorsal root ganglia of rats with chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve. Chin. J. Tradit. Chin. Med. Pharm. 37 4666–4669.