Knowledge Areas and New Trends in Lumbar Disc Herniation Research: Bibliometrics and Knowledge Mapping Analysis

To determine the coalitions and impact of authors, countries, institutions, and journals, evaluate the knowledge base, find the hotspot trends, and identify the emerging topics in lumbar disc herniation (LDH).

The articles related to LDH were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection on August 21, 2021. Two scientometric software (CiteSpace 5.8.R.1 and VOSviewer 1.6.17) were used to perform bibliometric and knowledge-map analysis.

From the set parameters, 4642 articles were included in the literature. Although the total number of publications fluctuated between 2001 and 2020, a general trend toward increase was observed. Respectively, the most productive country and institution in the field were the United States and Wooridul Spine Hospital. The most active and cited authors were Lee and Weinstein. Spine was the most impactful and cited journal. Weinstein (JAMA 296:2441-2450, 2006) had the highest number of co-citations and Weinstein(N Engl J Med 358:794-810, 2008) had the highest number of citations. The keyword "low back pain" was ranked first for frequency and total link strength, whereas "risk factor" was ranked first for centrality. Topics including pathogenesis (disc herniation), examination methods (MRI), treatment methods (non-surgical treatment, surgical treatment), surgical options (laminectomy, discectomy), clinical observations (double-blind, efficacy, outcome, learning curve), and evaluation of efficacy (meta-analysis) of LDH have been the focus of leading-edge research in 2001-2020.

Using bibliometric methods, this study mapped the knowledge map of LDH research in the past 20 years. The study identifies existing trends to provide a framework for further research.