Bibliometric and Visual Analysis in the Field of Dry Needling for Myofascial Pain Syndrome from 2000 to 2022

J Pain Res. 2023 Jul 18:16:2461-2475. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S417653. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Background: Evidence has shown that dry needling (DN) is effective for myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). However, bibliometrics has rarely been used to analyze the literature related to DN for MPS. The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic overview of global frontiers and research hotspots of DN in the treatment of MPS from 2000 to 2022.

Methods: A search was conducted on Web of Science Core Collection (WoS CC) for literature on DN for MPS from 2000 to 2022. Based on the basic information provided by WoS CC, CiteSpace software was used to conduct bibliometric analysis of the countries, institutions, categories, journals, authors, references and keywords involved in this topic.

Results: A total of 458 papers were obtained, with the number of publications increasing over time. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (31) was the most productive journal based on the number of publications, while Arch Phys Med Rehab (329) was the most co-cited journal. The most productive countries and institutions were USA (112) and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (39), respectively. Fernandez-de-las-penas, Cesar has the highest number of publications (24) and Simons DG, who was an author with the highest number of citations (250). The article published by Gattie et al (co-citations: 65), and Mejuto-Vazquez et al (centrality: 0.36) were the most representative and symbolic. Based on the co-cited literature and keywords, myofascial trigger point, research methods, and acupuncture were the hot research topics and trends in the field.

Conclusion: The current status and trends in clinical research of DN for MPS are revealed according to the results of this bibliometric study, which may facilitate researchers to identify hot topics and new directions for future research.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis; dry needling; hotspots; myofascial pain syndrome; research trends.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Major Project of Science and Technology Plan between Department of Science and Technology of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Zhejiang Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. GZY-ZJ-KJ-23021), Zhejiang Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance and Innovation Talent Support Program (No. 2023ZR031), and Young Talents Program of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (No. 2022FSYYZQ09). The trial sponsor is Hangzhou Third Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (No.38 West Lake Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province 310000, China, 86-571-87823126). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.