Bibliometric analysis of acupuncture for headache from 1974 to 2022: A scoping literature review based on international database

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the research hotspots and global trends of acupuncture in the treatment of headaches from 1974 to 2022. The Web of Science core collection database and literature related to acupuncture for headache treatment were retrieved. The CiteSpace (version 5.1.R8) and VOSviewer (version 1.6.19) software perform collaborative network analysis on the information of countries, academic institutions, authors, and co-occurrence network analysis on keywords, co-cited journals, and references. A total of 841 studies were included. Overall, the number of publications has increased over the past 5 decades. We identified and analyzed the countries, institutions, authors, and journals that were most active in the domain of acupuncture treatment for headaches. The most productive countries were the United States and China. Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine was the most productive institution and Linde Klaus was the most productive author. Cephalalgia was the most productive and co-cited journal, whereas Lancet had the highest impact factor. The research hotspots mainly focus on headache, migraine, tension headache, electroacupuncture, and acupuncture. Research trends have mainly focused on acupuncture therapy and its curative effects, migraine without aura, paroxysmal migraine, and the mechanism of acupuncture treatment. The main research hotspots and frontier trends were the therapeutic effect and mechanism of acupuncture for headaches. The mechanism of acupuncture in the treatment of headache mainly focused on the neural mechanism by multimodal MRI.

Acupoints for Headache with Blood Stasis Syndrome: a Literature Study Based on Data Mining Technology

“…In recent years, there had been continuous basic studies proving that the above acupoints may improve headache symptoms by improving hemodynamics, improving depression, and regulating the function of pain-related brain areas. 29 , 66 Therefore, we believe that the above acupoints can be used as the core acupoints for the treatment of blood stasis headache.…”

“…27 , 28 Reports indicate that acupuncture is among the most prevalent complementary therapies globally and is gaining acceptance in Western nations as an alternative approach to treating headaches and various other pain-related conditions. 29 The selection and combination of acupoints are regarded as fundamental components of the acupuncture treatment methodology. In clinical settings, practitioners frequently combine two or more acupoints to augment their synergistic effects and enhance the overall therapeutic outcomes of acupuncture.…”