SynthesisJournal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)2010
Traditional Chinese Medicine for treatment of fibromyalgia: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01869712 (Using Partially Randomized Patient Preference Research Model for Evaluation the Therapeutic Effect of Non-pharmaceutical Therapies), which is not on this map. Cited by 36 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Using Partially Randomized Patient Preference Research Model for Evaluation the Therapeutic Effect of Non-pharmaceutical Therapies: Protocol for a Feasibility Study
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 105 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trends and hotspots in cupping therapy research for pain: a bibliometric study.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Interventions for Depressive Symptoms in People Living with Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review of Meta-Analyses.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2022Pooled it
- Acupuncture for the Relief of Chronic Pain: A Synthesis of Systematic Reviews.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2019Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Acupuncture for treating fibromyalgia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of Endostar (rh-endostatin) combined with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone for treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer.World journal of surgical oncology · 2012Pooled it
- [Complementary and alternative therapies for fibromyalgia syndrome. Systematic review, meta-analysis and guideline].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2012Guideline
- Clinical research evidence of cupping therapy in China: a systematic literature review.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2010Pooled it
- 2012 Canadian Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of fibromyalgia syndrome: executive summary.Pain research & managementGuideline
- Trial
- Quantitative evaluation of microenvironmental changes and efficacy of cupping therapy under different pressures based on photoacoustic imaging.Photoacoustics · 2024Article
- Usage Patterns of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Patients with Bipolar Disorder: A Population-Based Study in Taiwan.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Review
- Cupping (Hijama) in Rheumatic Diseases: The Evidence.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2021Review
- Fibromyalgia in Older Individuals.Drugs & aging · 2021Review
- Role of Biomolecules in Osteoclasts and Their Therapeutic Potential for Osteoporosis.Biomolecules · 2021Review
- Understanding Traditional Chinese Medicine Therapeutics: An Overview of the Basics and Clinical Applications.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Efficacy and Safety of Pregabalin for Fibromyalgia in a Population of Chinese Subjects.Journal of pain research · 2021Article
- Online Assessment of Hemodynamics in the Suctioned Volume of Biological Tissue by an Embedded Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Sensor.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2021Article
- Photoacoustic imaging of microenvironmental changes in facial cupping therapy.Biomedical optics express · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTraditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is popular for treatment of fibromyalgia (FM) although there is a lack of comprehensive evaluation of current clinical evidence for TCM's therapeutic effect and safety.
objectiveTo review systematically the beneficial and harmful effects of TCM therapies for FM.
methodsWe searched six English and Chinese electronic databases for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on TCM for treatment of FM. Two authors extracted data and assessed the trial quality independently. RevMan 5 software was used for data analyses with an effect estimate presented as mean difference (MD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI).
resultsTwenty-five RCTs were identified with 1516 participants for this review. Seven trials (28%) were evaluated as having a low risk of bias and the remaining trials were identified as being as unclear or having a high risk of bias. Overall, ten trials were eligible for the meta-analysis, and data from remaining 15 trials were synthesized qualitatively. Acupuncture reduced the number of tender points (MD, -3.21; 95% CI -4.23 to -2.11; p < 0.00001, I(2) = 0%), and pain scores compared with conventional medications (MD, -1.78; 95% CI, -2.24 to -1.32; p < 0.00001; I(2) = 0%). Acupuncture showed no significant effect, with a random-effect model, compared with sham acupuncture (MD, -0.55; 95% CI, -1.35-0.24; p = 0.17; I(2) = 69%), on pain reduction. A combination of acupuncture and cupping therapy was better than conventional medications for reducing pain (MD, -1.66; 95% CI, -2.14 to -1.19; p < 0.00001; I(2) = 0%), and for improving depression scores with related to FM (MD, -4.92; 95% CI, -6.49 to -3.34; p < 0.00001; I(2) = 32%). Other individual trials demonstrated positive effects of Chinese herbal medicine on pain reduction compared with conventional medications. There were no serious adverse effects reported that were related to TCM therapies in these trials.
conclusionsTCM therapies appear to be effective for treating FM. However, further large, rigorously designed trials are warranted because of insufficient methodological rigor in the included trials.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.