Electroacupuncture for Pain Therapy: A Bibliometric Analysis and Content Review Update for 1 Decade (2013-2022)

Area of Science:

• Pain Management Research
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Bibliometric Analysis

Background:

• Pain presents significant economic and social burdens annually.
• Electroacupuncture (EA), originating in China, offers a potential approach to pain relief.
• A growing body of research exists on EA, yet specific bibliometric analyses on its use in pain therapy are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a bibliometric analysis of research on electroacupuncture for pain therapy.
• To assess the advancements and trends in EA pain research over the past decade.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of 1592 documents from the Scopus database (2013-2022).
• Keywords used: electroacupuncture, electro-acupuncture, electric acupuncture, and pain.
• Data analyzed using bibliometrics and VOSviewer.

Main Results:

• Significant growth in EA research for pain was observed in the last decade.
• Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine is a prominent journal for EA publications.
• China leads in publication output, but international collaboration is limited, primarily involving the US.

Conclusions:

• Electroacupuncture is a rapidly expanding research area for pain management.
• International collaboration in EA research needs enhancement, particularly beyond China and the US.