Geneology International

Author: Linda Rider

  • Bibliometric analysis of research on acupuncture: 20 years

    Bibliometric analysis of research on acupuncture: 20 years

    Introduction

    Neck pain, which is caused by neck damage, stiff neck, or cervical disease, refers to pain and movement disorders in the neck area. It can be induced by trauma, invasion of external pathogens (eg, wind-cold dampness), weakness, or multiple causes. Consequently, neck pain can cause tension, movement disorders, stiffness, radiating pain, and other forms of pain.1 It is a common musculoskeletal disease, and according to the 2017 statistics on the leading cause of global years lived with disability, it ranked 9th in women and 11th in men.2 Almost half of adults experience neck pain at least once in their lifetime,3 and more than 50{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of acute neck pain cases last longer than 1 year from onset.4 Although neck pain does not adversely influence an individual’s life itself, it affects the quality of life.5

    Conventional treatments, including drugs, injections, and surgeries, are known to reduce neck pain;6,7 however, these interventions can also induce adverse events, such as gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and renal complications; nerve damage; hemorrhage; and readmission.8–10 Thus, an increasing number of patients seek complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for effective and safe treatment of neck pain.

    Acupuncture therapy, which originated from ancient China,11 is one of the most popular CAM therapies in the world and widely used to effectively manage neck pain.12 Numerous studies have shown the benefits of acupuncture on neck pain, including pain relief,13–17 improved quality of life,18 reduced rate of cervical surgery,19 and cost-effectiveness.20 One of the reasons patients seek acupuncture therapy is because of its safety and effectiveness. However, notwithstanding the popularity in clinics and research areas, no studies have yet analyzed the publication trends on acupuncture for neck pain treatment via visual analyses.

    Bibliometric methods are quantitative methods that analyze large volumes of literature in a specific field using mathematical and statistical tools. By measuring the cooccurrence of information—authors, organizations, countries, keywords, and number of citations—in the literature, we can possibly understand various network relationships.21 This analytical method has been applied in many areas with large numbers of studies accumulated, including those on CAM. Jeon et al,22 Park et al,23 Moon et al,24 and Chen et al25 employed a bibliometric method to explore the general prescription of acupuncture, moxibustion, bee venom, and traditional Chinese medicine formula. In addition, Lee et al26 analyzed articles on acupuncture for pain treatment. Liang et al27 also evaluated the research trends on acupuncture for low back pain, while Li et al28 reviewed acupuncture therapy for knee osteoarthritis.

    In this study, we aimed to (a) analyze a large number of studies on acupuncture for neck pain treatment from a macroscopic perspective using a bibliometric method, (b) understand the characteristics of network data among the studies, and (c) discuss future research directions and specific tasks that may be undertaken in related research areas.

    Materials and Methods

    Data Sources, Search Strategies, and Coding

    A systematic literature search was conducted using the Web of Science database to identify relevant papers. The following search string was used to generate the initial search results: “(acupuncture OR electroacupuncture) AND (cervical pain OR neck pain).” This yielded 658 papers, which were further analyzed using the following inclusion criteria: (a) published from January 1, 2000 to December 4, 2020, (b) classified as an “article” or “review,” (c) written in English, and (d) had an abstract. The papers were manually selected on the basis of their titles and abstracts. Specifically, studies on acupuncture with needle insertion, ear acupuncture, and electroacupuncture were included, whereas those on pharmacopuncture, injection, acupressure, laser acupuncture, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation were excluded. Using these systematic criteria, we finally included 325 articles. The authors were processed on the basis of their full names.

    Data Analysis

    The papers were coded in terms of publication year, research area, journal, country, organization, authors, and keywords. The results were analyzed and visualized using VOSviewer (v1.6.15; The Center for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands), a program that maps bibliometric network data.29

    In the visualization using the VOSviewer program, the attraction/repulsion values in the layout items were set differently to yield clear representations of each of the organization, author, and keyword items (organization: attraction, 4/repulsion, −2; author: attraction, 5/repulsion, −4; keywords: attraction, 3/repulsion, −1).

    Results

    Distribution by Year

    The frequency of publication gradually increased from 5 publications in 2000 to 25 in 2018. Throughout the steady increase observed every year, 44 papers were published in 2019, which was the highest recorded number of publications in a year (Figure 1).

    Figure 1 Distribution of publications by year.

    Figure 2 Continue.

    Figure 2 Continue.

    Figure 2 (A) Network map of the six clusters of organizations. (B) Network map of the organizations according to the average publication year. (C) A network map of organizations according to the average citations.

    Distribution by Research Area

    In terms of research area, the area of integrative and complementary medicine (38.2{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) yielded the most papers, followed by the areas of neuroscience and neurology (21.2{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}), general and internal medicine (15.7{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}), rehabilitation (13.2{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}), and anesthesiology (10.8{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) (Table 1).

    Table 1 Distribution of the Publications by Research Area

    Distribution by Journal Title

    In terms of journals, Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (5.8{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) was the most frequently publishing journal, followed by the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (5.2{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}), Acupuncture in Medicine (3.7{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}), Complementary Therapies in Medicine (3.7{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}), and Pain (3.4{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) (Table 2).

    Table 2 Distribution of the Publications by Journal Title

    Distribution by Country

    In terms of publishing countries, the US (30.5{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) had the most publications, followed by China (21.8{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}), England (12.0{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}), the Republic of Korea (10.2{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}), and Germany (7.4{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) (Table 3).

    Table 3 Distribution of the Publications by Country

    Distribution by Organization

    In terms of research organizations, the University of York, UK, (5.5{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) and Kyung Hee University (4.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) published the most papers, followed by Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, with 11 articles (3.4{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) each. The University of Southampton ranked fifth, with 10 papers (3.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) published (Table 4).

    Table 4 Distribution of the Publications by Organization

    The organizations were analyzed using VOSviewer. First, the organizations that published more than three papers were identified. Of 73 organizations, 59 were divided into six clusters (Figure 2A). Cluster 1 consisted of 15 organizations, including the University of Alberta, University of Toronto, and Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. Cluster 2 consisted of 14 organizations, including the University of York, UK, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and the University of Southampton. Cluster 3 consisted of 10 organizations, including the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Harvard University, and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. Cluster 4 consisted of nine organizations, including the University of California, Los Angeles; Karolinska Institute; and Stanford University. Cluster 5 consisted of seven organizations, including Kyung Hee University, Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, and the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine. Cluster 6 consisted of four organizations, including China Medical University Taiwan, China Medical University Hospital, Taiwan City Hospital, and Taipei City Hospital.

    Second, the results were classified according to the average publication year by organization (Figure 2B). The yellow color in Figure 2B indicates that the organizations had published papers in recent years, and the blue color indicates otherwise. The University of Munich in Germany had the oldest average publication year (2007.0). The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Oregon Health & Science University in the US had the most recent average publication year (2019.0).

    Third, the publications from every organization were classified according to their average number of citations (Figure 2C). The yellow color in Figure 2C indicates more citations, and the blue color indicates otherwise. The network map of the average number of citations revealed that Keele University in England had the highest average number of citations (238.0), while Daejeon University had the lowest average number of citations (1.7).

    Distribution by Author

    In terms of authors, Hugh MacPherson of the University of York, UK, (5.5{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) had published the most papers, followed by Claudia Witt of the University Hospital Zurich (4.0{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}), In-Hyuk Ha of Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine (3.4{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}), Andrew Vickers of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (3.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}), and Pierre Cote of Ontario Tech University (2.8{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) (Table 5).

    Table 5 Distribution of the Publications by Author

    The authors were analyzed using the VOSviewer program. First, 60 of the 81 authors who had published more than three papers were classified into six clusters (Figure 3A). Cluster 1 consisted of 13 authors, including Kristi Randhawa, Yu Hainan, and Carlo Ammendolia. Cluster 2 consisted of 13 authors, including Hugh MacPherson, Kathleen Ballard, and Julia Woodman. Cluster 3 consisted of 12 authors, including Claudia Witt, Andrew Vickers, and Dominik Irnich. Cluster 4 consisted of 11 authors, including Pierre Cote, Margareta Nordin, and Linda Carroll. Cluster 5 consisted of seven authors, including In-Hyuk Ha, Me-riong Kim, and Yoon Jae Lee. Cluster 6 consisted of four authors, including Cesar Amorim, Daniela Aparecida Biasotto-Gonzalez, and Nivea Cristina De Melo.

    Figure 3 Continue.

    Figure 3 Continue.

    Figure 3 (A) Network map of the six clusters of authors. (B) Network map of the authors according to the average publication year. (C) Network map of the authors according to the average number of citations.

    Second, the author results were analyzed according to the average publication year (Figure 3B). The yellow color indicates the authors who had published in recent years, and the blue color indicates otherwise. According to the analysis, Benno Brinkhaus of Germany, Jaime Guzman of the US, Sheilah Hogg-Johnson of Canada, and Lena Holm of Sweden had the oldest average publication year (2008.0), while Yoon Jae Lee had published the most recent papers (2018.5).

    Third, the author results were classified according to the average number of citations (Figure 3C). The yellow color indicates more citations, and the blue color indicates otherwise. The analysis showed that Nadine Foster of England had the highest average number of citations (238.0), while In-Hyuk Ha had the lowest average number of citations (3.1).

    Analysis of Keywords

    The keywords used in the 325 papers were analyzed using VOSviewer. Among the 7483 keywords extracted from the article titles and abstracts, 41 keywords that were mentioned more than 25 times were analyzed; the keywords were classified into three clusters (Figure 4A). The top keywords in Cluster 1 were “group” (149 times), “week” (87 times), “score” (75 times), and “session” (75 times). The top keywords in Cluster 2 were “therapy” (123 times), “evidence” (109 times), “data” (85 times), and “condition” (70 times). The top keyword in Cluster 3 was “case” (37 times).

    Figure 4 Continue.

    Figure 4 Continue.

    Figure 4 (A) Analysis of the three clusters of keywords. (B) Analysis of the keywords according to the average publication year. (C) Analysis of the keywords according to the average number of citations.

    The keyword results were then classified according to the average publication year (Figure 4B). The yellow color indicates the keywords that were used in recent publications, and the blue color indicates otherwise.

    Afterward, the keyword results were classified according to the average number of citations of the papers that contained them (Figure 4C). The yellow color indicates more citations, and the blue color indicates otherwise.

    The analysis of the average publication year by cluster showed that Cluster 2 (2013.9) published earlier than did Clusters 1 and 3. In addition, the average number of citations in Cluster 2 was 30.8, which was higher than that in Clusters 1 and 3 (Table 6).

    Table 6 Clusters of the Keywords by the Average Publication Year and Number of Citations

    Discussion

    The main finding of this study with a total of 325 selected papers is that we were able to identify the research trends on acupuncture for neck pain treatment using visual methods, including tables and figures. The number of research studies on this treatment method has gradually increased over the last two decades, indicating that acupuncture is becoming more popular among researchers, clinicians, and patients.

    The area of the top publishing journal was integrated and complementary medicine. This indicates that papers on acupuncture for neck pain treatment are more favored in CAM journals that are focused on the intervention of traditional Chinese medicine than in other department-specific medical journals. Researchers need to broaden their choice of journal to journals of other areas to better disseminate information on the excellence of acupuncture among medical professionals who only have a keen interest in Western medicine.

    In terms of publishing countries, the US, China, England, the Republic of Korea, and Germany were the top five countries researching on this topic. If the database was not limited to the English-based Web of Science database, Asian countries would have more published records because acupuncture is widely accepted in East Asian countries.

    In terms of authors, Hugh MacPherson, Claudia Witt, and In-Hyuk Ha were the top three authors with the highest number of published papers. Cluster 1 mainly included Canadian authors from Ontario Tech University, while Cluster 2 had the most English authors from the University of York, UK. European authors were primarily included in Cluster 3, with authors from Charite Medical University of Berlin forming the largest group of researchers. The highest average number of citations in Cluster 3 was 113.2. Nadine Foster of England, who had the highest average number of citations, was also included in Cluster 3. The average publication year was 2011.4, which was the second oldest. The authors in Cluster 4 were from different organizations, but with most of them hailing from the US and Canada. The average publication year was 2010.6, which was the oldest. Cluster 5 included researchers from the Republic of Korea, specifically Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, and Pusan National University. The average publication year was 2017.7, which was the most recent among the clusters. Among the authors in Cluster 5, Yoon Jae Lee had an average publication year of 2018.5, which indicates that he had published several articles in recent years. In Cluster 6, there were numerous authors from Universidade Nove de Julho, all of whom were from Brazil. Our analysis revealed that the average number of citations of the papers published by European authors was generally high.

    Organizations in the Republic of Korea had recently published a large number of research studies on acupuncture, ranking fourth in terms of the number of publications by country. It appears that organizations the Republic of Korea have made significant progress in a short period compared to older and more established organizations in Europe. However, the average number of citations of the publishing authors in the Republic of Korea (6.0) was the second lowest. The gap between the two types of ranking lists indicates that many studies are published but less cited in other studies; this finding needs to be pointed out to the researchers in the country.

    The top ranking authors were also analyzed according to the contents of the studies. First, we determined that some authors, including Hugh MacPherson of Cluster 2 and Claudia Witt, Andrew Vickers, Dominik Irnich, George Lewith, Karen Sherman, Stefan Willich, and Nadine Foster of Cluster 3, were members of Acupuncture Trialists. They studied chronic pain treated with acupuncture.30,31 This group disclosed that among several patient characteristics, the pain severity at baseline was related to the effect of acupuncture on chronic pain.32 However, the application of this criterion in clinical situations is limited because of lack of clinical applicability. Second, Pierre Cote, Margareta Nordin, Linda Carroll, and Gabrielle van der Velde of Cluster 4 are often involved in the same studies. They were included in the task force on neck pain and usually conducted studies according to clinical practice guidelines.33 Among the authors from the Republic of Korea in Cluster 5, In-Hyuk Ha, Me-riong Kim, Yoon Jae Lee, and Jinho Lee from Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine co-authored several articles. This group usually conducted studies on the effect of acupuncture and electroacupuncture on neck pain.19,34

    In terms of keywords, those in Cluster 1 were commonly used terms in clinical trials, including “group,” “week,” “score,” “session,” and “acupuncture treatment.” The keywords in Cluster 2 were terms related to research methodology, including “therapy,” “evidence,” “data,” “condition,” “systematic review,” and “meta-analysis”. The keywords in Cluster 3 were insufficient for analysis, as only one keyword (“case”) was retrieved. Cluster 2 had an earlier average publication year and a higher average number of citations than the other clusters. There appeared to be diverse opportunities for these papers to be cited, as they had the earliest average publication year.

    This study has some limitations. Only papers written in English in the Web of Science database were retrieved in this study. Limiting the database to only one source can yield lopsided results but also has an advantage of providing information on clear and lucid research trends in a highly trusted database. Second, this study included various studies of different quality with the same emphasis on each article. Without relation to the type and the quality of studies, bibliometric analysis only explores on the distribution and the number of conducted studies. However, this is a characteristic of the analysis and it targets the quantitative research trend.

    Our results suggest several important directions for further research on acupuncture for neck pain treatment. First, we suggest the construction of a more detailed and precise search string that includes relevant keywords not only on neck pain but also on other diseases. The keywords used in this research were “acupuncture” and “neck pain” but these might not be enough to encompass all the diseases that can cause neck pain. Second, considering that this research was conducted on the basis of papers written only in English, further analyses of papers written in other languages would illustrate more accurate research trends on acupuncture for neck pain treatment. Third, as this study broadly reviewed different types of papers, focusing on clinical trials would better capture clinical research trends. Finally, the results of this study could contribute to future research on thoracic spine, pelvic girdle, and joint diseases.

    Conclusion

    This study analyzed 325 papers on acupuncture for neck pain treatment to analyze research trends over the last two decades using a bibliometric approach. First, our analysis showed that the number of publications increased from 2000 to 2020. Specifically, the number of studies had steadily increased since 2015, demonstrating that research had been actively conducted. Second, in terms of research area and journals, a number of papers had been published in the fields of CAM and pain. Third, in terms of countries, the largest number of papers had been published in the US and in Northeast Asian countries, such as China, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. Fourth, in terms of organizations, the University of York, UK, had published the most papers, followed by Kyung Hee University and Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine. Fifth, in terms of authors, the publishing authors from Europe had the highest average number of citations, while more authors from the Republic of Korea had recently published more studies. In addition, the top three groups that published co-authored papers were also identified. Sixth, our analysis revealed two major topics: (a) topics used in clinical trials on acupuncture and (b) topics related to research methodology.

    Data Sharing Statement

    Data may be provided through the corresponding author’s email.

    Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

    This study did not include any patient information. Thus, the requirement for ethics approval was waived.

    Acknowledgments

    This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2017R1A2B4011707).

    Author Contributions

    All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

    Funding

    This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2017R1A2B4011707).

    Disclosure

    JP and HK are the co-first authors. The authors report no conflicts of interest related to this work.

    References

    1. Ha JY. Pathology and clinical matters of oriental medicine about neck pain. J Physiol & Pathol Korean Med. 1996;10:6–10.

    2. GBD 2017 Disease and Injury Incidence and PrEvalence Collaborators. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 2018;392:1789–1858.

    3. Fejer R, Kyvik KO, Hartvigsen J. The prevalence of neck pain in the world population: a systematic critical review of the literature. Eur Spine J. 2006;15:834–848. doi:10.1007/s00586-004-0864-4

    4. Vasseljen O, Woodhouse A, Bjorngaard JH, Leivseth L. Natural course of acute neck and low back pain in the general population: the HUNT study. Pain. 2013;154:1237–1244. doi:10.1016/j.pain.2013.03.032

    5. Vos CJ, Verhagen AP, Passchier J, Koes BW. Clinical course and prognostic factors in acute neck pain: an inception cohort study in general practice. Pain Med. 2008;9:572–580. doi:10.1111/j.1526-4637.2008.00456.x

    6. Cohen SP, Hooten WM. Advances in the diagnosis and management of neck pain. BMJ. 2017;358:3221. doi:10.1136/bmj.j3221

    7. Mesregah MK, Feng W, Huang WH, et al. Clinical effectiveness of interlaminar epidural injections of local anesthetic with or without steroids for managing chronic neck pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pain Physician. 2020;23:335–348.

    8. Fine M. Quantifying the impact of NSAID-associated adverse events. Am J Manag Care. 2013;19:S267–S272.

    9. Dagenais S, Ogunseitan A, Haldeman S, Wooley JR, Newcomb RL. Side effects and adverse events related to intraligamentous injection of sclerosing solutions (prolotherapy) for back and neck pain: a survey of practitioners. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2006;87:909–913. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2006.03.017

    10. Zakaria HM, Bazydlo M, Schultz L, et al. Adverse events and their risk factors 90 days after cervical spine surgery: analysis from the Michigan spine surgery improvement collaborative. J Neurosurg. 2019;30:602–614.

    11. Wu JN. A short history of acupuncture. J Altern Complement Med. 1996;2:19–21. doi:10.1089/acm.1996.2.19

    12. Fu LM, Li JT, Wu WS. Randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for neck pain: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Altern Complement Med. 2009;15:133–145. doi:10.1089/acm.2008.0135

    13. Farag AM, Malacarne A, Pagni SE, Maloney GE. The effectiveness of acupuncture in the management of persistent regional myofascial head and neck pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Med. 2020;49:102297. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2019.102297

    14. Seo SY, Lee KB, Shin JS, et al. Effectiveness of acupuncture and electroacupuncture for chronic neck pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Chin Med. 2017;45:1573–1595. doi:10.1142/S0192415X17500859

    15. Eslamian F, Jahanjoo F, Dolatkhah N, Pishgahi A, Pirani A. Relative effectiveness of electroacupuncture and biofeedback in the treatment of neck and upper back myofascial pain: a randomized clinical trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2020;101:770–780. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2019.12.009

    16. Calamita SAP, Biasotto-Gonzalez DA, De Melo NC, et al. Immediate effect of acupuncture on electromyographic activity of the upper trapezius muscle and pain in patients with nonspecific neck pain: a randomized, single-blinded, sham-controlled, Crossover Study. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2018;41:208–217. doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2017.09.006

    17. Ho LF, Lin ZX, Leung AWN, et al. Efficacy of abdominal acupuncture for neck pain: a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. 2017;12:e0181360. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0181360

    18. Onat SS, Polat CS, Bicer S, Sahin Z, Tasoglu O. Effect of dry needling injection and kinesiotaping on pain and quality of life in patients with mechanical neck pain. Pain Physician. 2019;22:583–589.

    19. Han DG, Koh W, Shin JS, et al. Cervical surgery rate in neck pain patients with and without acupuncture treatment: a retrospective cohort study. Acupunct Med. 2019;37:268–276. doi:10.1136/acupmed-2018-011724

    20. Essex H, Parrott S, Atkin K, et al. An economic evaluation of Alexander technique lessons or acupuncture sessions for patients with chronic neck pain: a randomized trial (ATLAS). PLoS One. 2017;12:e0178918. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0178918

    21. De Bellis N. Bibliometrics and Citation Analysis: From the Science Citation Index to Cybermetrics. Lanham MD: Scarecrow Press; 2009.

    22. Jeon SH, Lee IS, Lee H, Chae Y. A bibliometric analysis of acupuncture research trends in clinical trials. Korean J Acupunct. 2019;36:281–291. doi:10.14406/acu.2019.030

    23. Park H, Lee IS, Lee H, Chae Y. Bibliometric analysis of moxibustion research trends over the past 20 years. J Clin Med. 2020;9:1254. doi:10.3390/jcm9051254

    24. Moon H, Lee IS, Lee H, Chae Y. A bibliometric analysis of bee venom research over the past 20 years. Korean J Acupunct. 2020;37:76–87. doi:10.14406/acu.2020.012

    25. Chen YB, Tong XF, Ren JG, Yu CQ, Cui YL. Current research trends in traditional Chinese medicine formula: a bibliometric review from 2000 to 2016. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019;2019:1–13.

    26. Lee IS, Lee H, Chen YH, Chae Y. Bibliometric analysis of research assessing the use of acupuncture for pain treatment over the past 20 years. J Pain Res. 2020;13:367–376. doi:10.2147/JPR.S235047

    27. Liang YD, Li Y, Zhao J, Wang XY, Zhu HZ, Chen XH. Study of acupuncture for low back pain in recent 20 years: a bibliometric analysis via CiteSpace. J Pain Res. 2017;10:951–964. doi:10.2147/JPR.S132808

    28. Li RR, Sun J, Hu HT, et al. Research trends of acupuncture therapy on knee osteoarthritis from 2010 to 2019: a bibliometric analysis. J Pain Res. 2020;13:1901–1913. doi:10.2147/JPR.S258739

    29. Danitta W. VOSviewer. Tech Serv Q. 2018;35:219–220. doi:10.1080/07317131.2018.1425352

    30. Vickers AJ, Vertosick EA, Lewith G, et al. Acupuncture for chronic pain: update of an individual patient data meta-analysis. J Pain. 2018;19:455–474. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2017.11.005

    31. MacPherson H, Vertosick EA, Foster NE, et al. The persistence of the effects of acupuncture after a course of treatment: a meta-analysis of patients with chronic pain. Pain. 2017;158:784–793. doi:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000747

    32. Witt CM, Vertosick EA, Foster NE, et al. The effect of patient characteristics on acupuncture treatment outcomes an individual patient data meta-analysis of 20,827 chronic pain patients in randomized controlled trials. Clin J Pain. 2019;35:428–434. doi:10.1097/AJP.0000000000000691

    33. Cote P, Wong JJ, Sutton D, et al. Management of neck pain and associated disorders: a clinical practice guideline from the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management (OPTIMa) collaboration. Eur Spine J. 2016;25:2000–2022. doi:10.1007/s00586-016-4467-7

    34. Kim N, Shin BC, Shin JS, et al. Characteristics and status of Korean medicine use in whiplash-associated disorder patients. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2018;18:124. doi:10.1186/s12906-018-2188-7

  • Turns Out, This Habit Is Significantly Better For Your Health Than Weight Loss, Says New Study

    Turns Out, This Habit Is Significantly Better For Your Health Than Weight Loss, Says New Study

    When it will come to living a wholesome life-style, food plan, exercise, and bodyweight loss can continue to keep any person in shape. Although numerous may assume you require to maintain a shut eye on your calorie consumption and watch what you try to eat, a new examine has shed light-weight on what essentially will help you are living a healthful life style.

    In accordance to a review printed in iScience, some life-style options intended to battle weight problems don’t operate and in the lengthy operate, can even direct to some persons attaining additional fat. The review confirmed that obese folks stop up viewing significantly better results when they start working out, as opposed to obese contributors that tried using to shed pounds by simply dieting. Although the research failed to specifically evaluate dieting, it did expose that all those who utilized a diet program to eliminate fat inevitably ended up attaining the lbs back again soon after they strike their intention, though people who exercised had superior prolonged-term outcomes.

    “Exercising is significant when it arrives to obesity and illness owing to its influence on insulin sensitivity,” claims Jay Cowin, NNCP, RNT, RNC, CHN, CSNA at ASYSTEM. “Insulin sensitivity is your body’s capability to pull glucose out of the bloodstream so that it can be utilized for strength or gas. Weight problems has been found to activate the innate immune system which stimulates inflammation and insulin resistance.”

    Connected: Get even far more balanced suggestions straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter!

    “This can lead to signs or symptoms of prediabetes and in the end type 2 diabetic issues,” carries on Cowin. “Nevertheless, experiments demonstrate that exercising improves insulin sensitivity when executed everyday. This is since, through cardio training, muscle tissues boost their uptake of glucose by as much as fifty moments. This effect can persist for up to 24 hours or additional following your exercise. This exhibits that exercising is critical for regulating insulin sensitivity, which can influence your overall well being.”

    Training would not just have an effect on how your human body processes insulin.

    “Exercising helps prevent or reverses the effects of selected conditions,” claims Dr. Daniel Boyer of the Farr Institute. “Reasonable physical exercise improves heartbeat that will make the entire body muscular tissues use more glucose. With time, it cuts down blood sugar amounts, [which] lowers coronary heart assault [risk] and linked diseases. By controlling body weight, decreasing sexual intercourse hormones, and strengthening the immune method, it can minimize probabilities of certain cancers like colon and breast most cancers.”

    According to the review, people today who exercised often had a 22{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} reduce all-trigger mortality hazard and 24{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} reduce cardiovascular disease threat.

    “It [also] promotes a perception of self-confidence and effectively-currently being by reducing stress and despair,” suggests Dr. Boyer. “However, the url amongst exercise and emotional overall health is not distinct. Since it helps make the physique melt away a lot more energy, it aids verify being overweight that could induce overall health difficulties in the entire body. To realize this, do some cardio exercise for at least 20 minutes per working day to recognize the outcome of work out on your body weight.”

    If you have a weight decline intention in intellect or just want to live a much healthier life-style, decide to make work out a precedence to preserve you in top rated form and moving toward a greater life-style. If you need thoughts of what to do to get your physique moving but you should not know exactly where to start off, make guaranteed to check out This 5-Move At-House Workout Will Help You Establish Energy and Get Lean and get all set to live your most effective life.

  • Stretching Tips: 8 Simple Ways to Fit Stretching Into Your Day When All You Want to Do Is Skip It

    Stretching Tips: 8 Simple Ways to Fit Stretching Into Your Day When All You Want to Do Is Skip It

    You could be a health and fitness/yoga specialist with the awareness, methods, time, occupation overall flexibility and all of the factors and Still pick to forgo stretching. Hi, it me.

    So, I know that if I can forget about to extend, or just pick out to do other items alternatively (wanting at you, Netflix), then maybe you may, too?

    Listed here are a several stretching suggestions for we can established ourselves up for far better results in creating it a even bigger precedence. I essentially use these myself. But I have to say, occasionally some of these guidelines get the job done much better than others. When that’s the case and a distinct tactic just isn’t operating any more, I’ve uncovered that switching it up and striving other people typically reboots the pattern.

    1. Remind by yourself about all the pretty critical causes to stretch.

    Like I stated above, there are tons of added benefits of stretching. Improving overall flexibility, prepping your system for a work out or to awesome down just after a person, assisting address muscle imbalances, minimizing muscle stiffness and achiness, and just serving to your overall body and mind chill out are just a handful of them. I know when I do make the time to stretch, my education classes truly feel significantly smoother, my physique feels less lethargic, and I really feel like I want to be extra active.

    Guaranteed, there may possibly be debate in just the physical fitness environment about some of the facets of stretching— these kinds of as no matter if to stretch before or right after a work out and when to use dynamic or passive or static stretching—but we fairly significantly all concur that preserving our bodies cellular and adaptable is a great point. Reminding ourselves of this normally might help.

    2. Put your stretching things in a high-targeted traffic spot.

    Maintain a mat, yoga strap, block, foam roller, or one thing that will make you imagine about stretching somewhere wherever you will go by it on a everyday basis. This acts as a reminder that perhaps you could do or extend or two when you see it.

    Does this stretching tip usually do the job? No, but it does sometimes. Trying to keep my yoga mat in my dwelling place labored for me in the early quarantine times, but I have to confess that my mat has been supplying me the side eye lately given that it really is not having as a lot as adore as it used to. Hey, we all have space for improvement—I could probably place it in a distinctive location as a new reminder (and combine it with a couple extra of these methods).

    3. Develop smaller habits.

    I necessarily mean actually tiny. Select 1 or two stretches that you know make you experience greater and do only people. Do this possibly after a working day. Possibly a few instances a day. The critical right here is to make it as quick as probable for you to suit it in so that it under no circumstances appears to be challenging. And then maybe include a further 1 after this results in being a routine, or when you commence to crave how a lot superior your human body feels following you do that extend.

    4. Stack behavior.

    Have a podcast or 3 that you pay attention to weekly? Maybe try out accomplishing some mobility moves or stretching though you listen. Or capture up on one of your streamed demonstrates and extend in the course of a person of the episodes. Possibly do some standing stretches when waiting for the espresso to brew or though brushing your tooth. Employing a behavior that presently exists is just about like the buddy technique for a new habit that you’re not rather acquainted with yet.

    5. Prepare in advance.

    I know for some of us setting up in advance feels overwhelming, so if that’s you, probably just skip ideal over this a single. But, if you are the sort of man or woman that needs items planned out for you, prepare stretching, put it in your calendar, set a reminder, make it significant. This can be especially beneficial if you’re by now undertaking pre-planned routines, like by a Peloton stack or a combo of other courses from on-line programming. Simply just tack on an further five-moment session to the close of your work out prior to you even get commenced.

  • Princess-India “The Woke Therapist” Shares Tips On World Mental Health Day

    Princess-India “The Woke Therapist” Shares Tips On World Mental Health Day

     

    Sunday, Oct. 10 marks “World Mental Wellness Working day,” a time to mirror and consider a beat. The World Health Group describes the day as an opportunity to increase awareness about psychological well being issues and mobilize support for psychological health initiatives.

    Discussions about psychological health and fitness and wellness have become far more prevalent due to the fact the start out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Community transparency about mental overall health has also enhanced, breaking via extended-held stigma around psychological wellness.

    More than the summertime, both equally Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka made use of their public platforms to not only focus on mental health and fitness but put their battles in viewpoint. Kimberly Atkins Stohr took the option to reshare her op-ed from July about classes from Biles, destigmatizing psychological health care, and exactly why Black girls really should obtain the power to say no. (Go through the whole op-ed right here).

    Former football huge receiver Doug Baldwin Jr. tweeted about the importance of seeking assistance when desired. “It’s OK to not be Ok, but we must look for guidance when we can,” tweeted Baldwin. “Organizations like @docwaynedtg are employing sports activities to assist improve mental wellbeing for the 20{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of young children residing with a mental wellbeing challenge. We by no means know who wants our terms of advocacy.”

    The group Baldwin mentions is Doc Wayne, a non-profit remedy software that uses sporting activities to reimagine remedy. Even with progressive programs like Doc Wayne, boundaries to therapy and other treatment method methods continue being.

    Partnering with Radio 1 D.C. Princess-India, also recognized as “The Woke Therapist,” offers viewers with 23 suggestions to support with managing their psychological health and fitness. Check out her tips and far more down below. 

    As we get well from the ramifications of a worldwide pandemic and bit by bit assimilate to a “new normal” now a lot more than ever, our mental overall health is a priority. Which is why for World Mental Overall health Awareness Working day, I’m in this article to share some useful strategies, tools, and sources to support you get care of on your own and prioritize your psychological health so that you can dwell your very best everyday living!

    Princess-India, “The Woke Therapist,” is a Licensed Specialist Counselor, Finest Providing Author, & Youtube Individuality. She is the creator of Tarot Therapy® and aims to use her articles & solutions to teach, recover, and inspire. She is also the owner of The Sanctuary Sister Circle (an on the net non secular neighborhood) and Soul Lifestyle Counseling & Healing Lounge, the place she delivers digital remedy, coaching, & Tarot Therapy® classes.

    https://www.youtube.com/enjoy?v=_EVHctqwdWc

    See Also: 

    Filmmaker Crystal R. Emery Delivers A Harrowing Glimpse At the American Health care Method With Her New Documentary’ The Deadliest Illness in America’

  • UK startup Stress Point Health presents research on digitalised neurofeedback

    UK startup Stress Point Health presents research on digitalised neurofeedback

    London-based startup, Stress Stage Wellness has announced the results of new study on the effectiveness of digitised neurofeedback, executed by college students of the Faculty of Drugs at Imperial College or university London.

    Neurofeedback is a kind of self-manage of the mind by using the measurement of mind waves and provision of an audio or movie suggestions signal.

    Scientists at Imperial College or university measured the coronary heart and respiratory amount, cognition score, self-established anxiety stage and notion of 39 contributors when utilizing the SPHERE application, which employs digitised neurofeedback when compared to other psychological well being applications.

    An 11.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} minimize in heart amount was found from pre- to article- session in the SPHERE cohort when compared to both the major meditation application, and the foremost meditation application as well as artificially induced anxiety cohorts.

    There was an amplified alter throughout most other parameters between SPHERE and the main meditation app, and the leading meditation app moreover artificially induced anxiety cohorts, though this was not substantial

    The research was introduced at the European Convention on Psychological Health and fitness on Sep 29 – Oct 1 and the XXV World Congress of Neurology (WCN 2021), which took location on 3 – 7 Oct.

    WHY IT Issues

    Some PTSD treatment plans entail recalling distressing occasions, triggering significant patient dropout. Several scientific tests have identified potential for neurofeedback as an alternate resource to publicity therapy for a selection of neuropsychiatric disorders, but the possible for this kind of cure has not yet been completely realised owing to equally value and restricted availability.

    THE Much larger CONTEXT

    In the meantime, meditation app Headspace not long ago introduced it will merge with psychological overall health coaching firm Ginger. The pair program to combine their products and solutions in a single platform targeted on behavioural wellbeing and over-all wellbeing. Ginger raised $100 million in Collection E funding in March.

    Previously this year, worldwide company of mental wellness and employee wellness expert services, ICAS Globe, acquired NHS-commissioned psychological overall health tech startup, Hi there Tomo.

    ON THE Record

    Sheena Pirbhai, Anxiety Point Wellness CEO and founder, stated: “It’s superb to see Imperial pupils taking an curiosity in digitised neurofeedback, and our modern psychological wellbeing treatment method app, SPHERE.

    “We definitely think that this technological know-how has the likely to transform psychological overall health assistance as we know it, by supplying acute aid from tension, stress and anxiety and PTSD at scale, to all people in need. The outcomes spotlight the superiority of digitised Neurofeedback and that concentrating on the psychological centre of the brain is an essential element to the successful therapy of trauma.”

    Karanjot Chhatwal, Viraj Shah and Elina Tanskanen, who carried out the examine at by Imperial Higher education, mentioned: “Having the option to undertake floor-breaking research together with Strain Position Overall health was an fantastic privilege. The task evaluated the efficiency of digitised neurofeedback for treating pressure, anxiousness and PTSD. This suggests serious potential for digital neurofeedback and we are thrilled to see what the upcoming holds.”

  • Missing Phoenix girls found ‘happy, healthy, and playing,’ police say | Arizona News

    Missing Phoenix girls found ‘happy, healthy, and playing,’ police say | Arizona News






    missing children graphic ppd

    PHOENIX (3Tv/CBS 5) — Two youthful sisters who were being at the heart of law enforcement look for have been found secure, Phoenix law enforcement say. Amina and Amanirena Sterling had been missing considering that Saturday evening. Sgt. Ann Justus reported shortly following 12:30 p.m. Sunday that they had been found and were being not damage. 

    Regulation enforcement descended on the location of 17th and Missouri avenue early Sunday early morning and expended hrs on the lookout for the small women. In accordance to Justus, any person in the place approached the officers for the duration of the look for and said they imagined they noticed the Amina and Amanirena at a nearby YMCA with an grownup. “Officers responded to that place and they situated both of those women delighted, healthful, and enjoying,” Justus reported. The lady who was with the sisters said she identified them Saturday evening. “She is vaguely acquainted with these young children and this apartment advanced,” Justus defined The girl, whom Justus described as “really cooperative,” tried out to choose the women property but was not able. Justus declined to elaborate on the purpose for that.

    The superior Samaritan took the little girls to her condominium to slumber and then out to enjoy Sunday morning. “She was not aware that anyone had claimed them missing or that we had been out below actively looking for them,” Justus stated.  “She isn’t going to view the news, she stated, and she will not have social media.”

    Justus explained that she observed Amina and Amanirena herself. “They are in fantastic form,” she explained. Paramedics took a search at the girls as a precaution but identified practically nothing if problem.

    “I feel this is the best doable resolution we could have experienced in a circumstance like this,” Justus said. “It is a relief for me to stand up right here and explain to you that they are safe and sound.”

    The look for for the sisters

    The Phoenix Law enforcement Section tweeted about the lookup for the women just immediately after 7 a.m., expressing Amina and Amanirena’s mother very last noticed them  ended up previous noticed in the location of 17th and Missouri avenues at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

    Justus mentioned the girls’ mom known as the law enforcement at about 2 a.m. She claimed officers had been “actively exploring” for the sisters because then. In accordance to police, the girls’ mom was the past human being to see them at the family’s Phoenix condominium. Perfectly in advance of the sunshine was up on Sunday, Arizona’s Loved ones crews noticed a police helicopter overhead in the neighborhood, and officers ended up likely door-to-doorway, showing inhabitants photos on their telephones and inquiring thoughts.

    Leoshie Sterling, the girls’ aunt, told Arizona’s Household that the sisters’ dad and mom are not jointly. She said the ladies live with their father (her brother), but their mother was looking at them Saturday though he was out of town. She also reported a neighbor thought they saw them taking part in by their mom’s car at about 10 p.m. Saturday. “Seemingly their mother was asleep,” she claimed. “When she woke up, she observed they have been lacking.” Leoshie stated she got the contact about her nieces at about 2 a.m.

    Justus explained numerous businesses were being associated in the research for Amina and Amanirena,  which includes officers other other cities, deputies from MCSO, and the FBI, all of which are element of the Arizona Little one Abduction Response Crew or Arizona CART. “We experienced each useful resource available to us out here,” she claimed.

    What is actually following?

    “Now that we have discovered them, we can get a breath and we are transitioning to identify if the elements of little one neglect in this circumstance,” Justus explained. The Office of Baby Security is seeking at the condition and will establish the most secure spot for Amina and Amanirena.

    Investigators still have numerous queries about what took place amongst Saturday evening and Sunday morning. There is a considerable gap of time involving when the girls’ mother said she observed them Saturday evening and when she referred to as the police to report them missing. “Our detectives are asking all those queries and we are likely to get all those responses.”

    Copyright 2021 KPHO/KTVK (KPHO Broadcasting Company). All rights reserved.