Xu Renjie, Liu Shi-Lu, Xu Guangxu, Yan Chengjie, Cui Qi, Liu Shan, Sun Mingliang
Kunshan Rehabilitation Hospital, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Front Med (Lausanne). 2025 Jul 9;12:1559099. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1559099. eCollection 2025.
Cupping therapy (CT), a traditional form of alternative medicine, has gained attention as a non-pharmacological intervention for pain. Its applications span various pain-related conditions such as musculoskeletal disorders, migraines. Despite its growing popularity, comprehensive analyses of research trends, collaboration networks, and emerging hotspots in CT for pain remain limited.
This bibliometric study analyzed 234 publications on CT for pain sourced from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace and VOSviewer software, and Bibliometric analysis website were employed to analyze trends, identify key contributors, and map global collaboration networks. Co-cited references, keyword clustering, and burst detection analyses were performed to uncover research hotspots and trends.
A total of 234 publications from 31 countries and 437 institutions were included. China led in publication volume, while the United States had the highest total citations. The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine and the University of Duisburg-Essen were identified as central hubs for institutional collaboration. High-frequency keywords such as "pain," "cupping therapy," "acupuncture," and "negative pressure" highlighted a focus on CT's clinical applications and mechanisms. Emerging trends included the integration of CT with modalities like acupuncture and physical therapy. However, methodological limitations, such as inconsistent protocols and insufficient mechanistic studies, were identified as key challenges.
This study offers an overview of the research landscape for CT in pain management, its potential as a safe and effective therapy. To strengthen its role in evidence-based medicine, future research should focus on standardizing treatment protocols, conducting high-quality clinical trials, and exploring its underlying mechanisms.
拔罐疗法（CT）是一种传统的替代医学形式，作为一种非药物性疼痛干预方法受到了关注。其应用涵盖了各种与疼痛相关的病症，如肌肉骨骼疾病、偏头痛。尽管其越来越受欢迎，但对拔罐疗法治疗疼痛的研究趋势、合作网络和新兴热点的全面分析仍然有限。
这项文献计量学研究分析了来自科学引文索引核心合集的234篇关于拔罐疗法治疗疼痛的出版物。使用CiteSpace和VOSviewer软件以及文献计量分析网站来分析趋势、确定关键贡献者并绘制全球合作网络。进行了共被引参考文献、关键词聚类和突发检测分析，以揭示研究热点和趋势。
共纳入了来自31个国家和437个机构的234篇出版物。中国在出版物数量上领先，而美国的总被引次数最高。韩国韩医学研究院和杜伊斯堡-埃森大学被确定为机构合作的中心枢纽。“疼痛”“拔罐疗法”“针灸”和“负压”等高频率关键词突出了对拔罐疗法临床应用和机制的关注。新兴趋势包括拔罐疗法与针灸和物理治疗等方式的整合。然而，方法学上的局限性，如方案不一致和机制研究不足，被确定为关键挑战。
本研究概述了拔罐疗法在疼痛管理中的研究概况及其作为一种安全有效疗法的潜力。为了加强其在循证医学中的作用，未来的研究应侧重于标准化治疗方案、开展高质量的临床试验以及探索其潜在机制。
