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Review
. 2023 Jun 15:16:2063-2077.
doi: 10.2147/JPR.S410603. eCollection 2023.

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

Zhichao Gong  1 , Yi Guo  1 , Xiaowei Liu  1 , Kun Ai  1 , Wu Li  1 , Jiangshan Li  1
Affiliations
Review

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

Zhichao Gong et al. J Pain Res. .

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: CiteSpace; VOSviewer; knowledge graph analysis; neck pain; tuina.

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Conflict of interest statement

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

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Search strategy in the Web of Science.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Annual output of tuina for NP from 2013 to 2023.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Analysis of the intensity of country cooperation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Analysis of the intensity of author collaboration.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Analytical mapping of institutional cooperation.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Keyword co-occurrence mapping.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Top 46 keywords with the strongest citation bursts.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Keyword clustering mapping of tuina manipulation for NP.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Co-citation clustering mapping of tuina manipulation for NP.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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