Knowledge mapping of acupoint sensitization and acupoint specificity: a bibliometric analysis

Area of Science:

• Acupuncture Research
• Bibliometrics
• Pain Management

Background:

• Acumoint sensitization and specificity are crucial in acupuncture research.
• Clinical studies show needling sensitive acupoints improves pain disorder outcomes.
• A gap exists in bibliometric analysis within this field.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of the knowledge structure.
• To identify research hotspots in acupoint sensitization and specificity.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of 4,940 articles from Web of Science Core Collection (until August 2023).
• Utilized VOSviewer, CiteSpace, R software (Bibliometrix), and GraphPad Prism.
• Analyzed publication trends, leading countries, institutions, journals, authors, and keywords.

Main Results:

• China and the US lead in publications, with a steady annual increase.
• Key research areas include temperature specificity, disease diagnosis, and sensitization mechanisms.
• Emerging keywords: TRPV1, signaling pathway, and diagnosis.

Conclusions:

• This is the first bibliometric study on acupoint sensitization and specificity.
• It summarizes research trends and advances, serving as a reference for future studies.
• Identifies preliminary and main research directions.