ArticleBMJ open2018
Thread embedding acupuncture for musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.
Article in BMJ open, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- A bibliometric analysis of acupuncture applied to primary osteoporosis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Effect on Satisfactory Seizure Control and Heart Rate Variability of Thread-Embedding Acupuncture for Drug-Resistant Epilepsy: A Patient-Assessor Blinded, Randomized Controlled Trial.Behavioural neurology · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Efficacy and safety of thread embedding acupuncture on knee osteoarthritis: A randomized, controlled, pilot clinical trial.Medicine · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Determinants of traditional Korean medicine utilization by individuals with physical disabilities: inference of causal relationships using Korea health panel data.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Article
- Acupoint catgut embedding attenuates fibromyalgia pain through attenuation of TRPV1 signaling pathway in mouse.Iranian journal of basic medical sciences · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
- Article
- Thread-Embedding Acupuncture for the Treatment of Shoulder Instability: Protocol for a Randomized, Controlled, Patient-Assessor Blinded Pilot Study.Journal of pain research · 2021Article
- Thread Embedded Acupuncture for Non-Specific Posterior Neck Pain: A PRISMA-Compliant Protocol for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2021Article
- Article
- Thread-embedding acupuncture for lumbar herniated intervertebral disc: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2019Article
- Recent development in antihyperalgesic effect of phytochemicals: anti-inflammatory and neuro-modulatory actions.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThread embedding acupuncture (TEA) is a special type of acupuncture that inserts certain medical threads (eg, catgut or polydioxanone) into subcutaneous tissue or muscles at specific points. Although TEA has been widely used for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain in Korea, China and Taiwan, evidence regarding its efficacy is lacking. The aim of this protocol is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of TEA in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain, by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The following 16 databases will be searched from their inception to 14 May 2017: MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, three Chinese database (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Chongqing VIP Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database and the Wanfang database) and eight Korean databases (Korean Medical Database, Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors, Korean Studies Information Service System, Korean National Assembly Digital Library, National Digital Science Library, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, 'Database Periodical Information Academic and Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal'). The WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform will also be searched to retrieve the recently completed studies.All randomised controlled studies in which TEA was used on specific points for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain will be included and no restrictions on language will be applied. The risk of bias of each study will be evaluated by the Cochrane risk of bias tool.Mean difference or standardised mean difference for continuous data and risk ratio for dichotomous data will be calculated with 95% CIs using a random effects model or a fixed effects model. Additional subgroup and sensitivity analyses will be conducted according to a predefined protocol. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: No ethical issues are predicted. The systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal or conference presentation. These findings will summarise the current evidence of TEA for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain and may provide guidance for clinicians and patients to select TEA for musculoskeletal pain. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42015019046.
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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.