Mapping the Research Trends and Knowledge Structure of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Musculoskeletal Disorders: A...

Musculoskeletal disorders represent a major global health burden and substantially impair the quality of life. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), characterized by its multi-component and multi-target therapeutic properties, has been widely used in the prevention and treatment of major musculoskeletal disorders. However, a comprehensive evaluation of the global research landscape and emerging trends in this field remains lacking. Therefore, we retrieved publications related to TCM therapy for major musculoskeletal disorders from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) published between January 2016 and August 24, 2025, and performed a bibliometric analysis using CiteSpace and VOSviewer to evaluate publication trends, leading countries and institutions, influential journals and authors, co-cited references, and research hotspots. A total of 781 publications were included. The annual number of publications showed a continuous upward trend over the past decade. China contributed the largest number of publications, whereas the United States demonstrated greater academic influence based on average citations. The Journal of Ethnopharmacology and Frontiers in Pharmacology were identified as the leading journals in this field, while Chunyan Yan and Xin-Sheng Yao were the most productive authors. Co-citation and keyword analyses identified osteoporosis, knee osteoarthritis, active compounds, and molecular signaling pathways, particularly NF-κB, as the major research hotspots. Furthermore, citation burst analysis revealed a shift from studies of single herbal medicines toward TCM formulas, accompanied by the increasing application of network pharmacology and molecular docking, highlighting a transition from efficacy-oriented research to mechanism-based investigations. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive overview of the knowledge structure and research trends of TCM for major musculoskeletal disorders. The findings provide valuable references for future research and suggest that muscle diseases and spinal disorders remain underrepresented and deserve greater attention in future investigations.