Bibliometric analysis of research on manual therapy for low back pain from 2013 to 2023

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common symptoms prompting patients to seek treatment. Manual therapy is widely used to treat LBP. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of bibliometric analyses examining the worldwide utilization of manual therapy for the treatment of LBP.

This research used the Online Bibliometric overview Platform website (https://bibliometric.com), CiteSpace (6.2.R4), and VOSviewer (1.6.19) to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current status and prospective developments in the field. The Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database was searched for publications from August 1, 2013, to August 1, 2023 on manual therapy of low back pain.

Among the identified articles, 488 fit the criteria. The number of papers on manual therapy for LBP has progressively risen over in the past 10 years, whereas the average number of citations of these papers has decreased. The leading countries producing publications on this discipline were the USA, Canada, and China. There were 345 authors of the studies, with Christine M. Goertz having the most publications. The University of Southern Denmark was the institution that contributed the most to the field. The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics published many of the research papers in this field. Keyword analysis showed that the relationship between low back pain, spinal manipulation, and management has been present throughout the development of this research area.

Spinal manipulation, management, randomized controlled trials, Physical therapy, care and disability are the current research hotspots in the treatment of LBP with manual therapy. In addition, research on complementary medicine and clinical practice guidelines may become an important trend in the future.