Bibliometric and Visual Analysis in the Field of Dry Needling for Myofascial Pain Syndrome from 2000 to 2022

Figures & data

Table 1 The Topic Search Query

Set	Results	Search Query
#1	3617	TS=(dry needling) Indexes=Web of Science Core Collection, Timespan=2000–2022
#2	4448	(((TS=(myofascial pain syndrome)) OR TS=(myofascial pain)) OR TS=(myofascitis)) OR TS=(myofascial syndrome) Indexes=Web of Science Core Collection, Timespan=2000–2022
#3	458	#1 AND #2

Figure 1 (A) Type of publications. (B) Annual publications of DN for MPS.

Table 2 Top 5 Scholarly Journals Related to Dry Needling on MPS

Rank	Publications	Journal	IF (2022)
1	31	Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies	0.000
2	21	Acupuncture in Medicine	1.976
3	14	Pain Medicine	3.673
4	13	Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy	6.276
5	12	Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation	4.06
6	12	Evidence-based Complementary And Alternative Medicine	2.65

Table 3 Top 5 Cited Journals and Centrality Related to Dry Needling on MPS

Rank	Frequency	Cited Journal	Rank	Centrality	Cited Journal
1	329	Arch Phys Med Rehab	1	0.47	BMJ - Brit Med J
2	282	Am J Phys Med Rehab	2	0.46	Arch Phys Med Rehab
3	279	Pain	3	0.28	Clin J Pain
4	233	J Orthop Sport Phys	4	0.27	J Jpn Soc Acupuncture M
5	231	Acupuncture Med	5	0.25	Muscle Nerve

Figure 2 Cited journal map related to research of DN treatment for MPS. The nodes in the map represent journals, and links between the nodes signify cooperation relationships. The diverse colors of the nodes represent different years. The larger the node area, the greater the number of co-citations. The purple ring indicates centrality of literature, and nodes with high centrality are considered as pivotal points.

Figure 3 The dual-map overlay of citing journals and cited journals on articles related to DN for MPS. (The left side were the citing journal, the right side were the cited journal, and the line path represents the citation relationship).

Table 4 Top 5 Publications and Centrality of Countries Related to Dry Needling on MPS

Rank	Publications	Country	Rank	Centrality	Country
1	112	USA	1	0.55	USA
2	109	Spain	2	0.47	Spain
3	42	Iran	3	0.16	Australia
4	30	Turkey	4	0.12	Iran
5	30	Peoples R China	5	0.09	Canada

Figure 4 Map of countries concerning researches of DN treatment for MPS. The nodes in the map represent countries or territories, and links between the nodes signify cooperation relationships. The diverse colors of the nodes represent different years. The larger the node area, the greater the number of publications. The purple ring indicates centrality of literature, and nodes with high centrality are considered as pivotal points.

Table 5 Top 5 Publications and Centrality of Institutions Related to Dry Needling on MPS

Rank	Publications	Institution	Rank	Centrality	Institution
1	39	Universidad Rey Juan Carlos	1	0.03	Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
2	17	Complutense University of Madrid	2	0.03	European University of Madrid
3	17	Universidad de Alcala	3	0.02	Complutense University of Madrid
4	16	China Medical University Taiwan	4	0.02	Tehran University of Medical Sciences
5	11	European University of Madrid	5	0.02	Aalborg University

Figure 5 Map of institutions related to DN treatment for MPS. The nodes in the map represent institutions, and links between the nodes signify collaborative relationships. The diverse colors of the nodes represent different years. The larger the node area, the greater the number of publications. The purple ring indicates centrality of literature, and nodes with high centrality are considered as pivotal points.

Table 6 Top 5 Publications and Centrality of Authors Related to Dry Needling on MPS

Rank	Publications	Author	Rank	Centrality	Author
1	24	Fernandez-de-las-penas, Cesar	1	0.05	Fernandez-de-las-penas, Cesar
2	16	Chou, Li-Wei	2	0.03	Fernandez-carnero, Josue
3	16	Calvo-lobo, Cesar	3	0.03	Chou, Li-Wei
4	16	Dommerholt, Jan	4	0.02	Calvo-lobo, Cesar
5	12	Fernandez-carnero, Josue	5	0.02	Dommerholt, Jan

Figure 6 Map of authors dedicating to DN treatment for MPS. The nodes in the map represent authors, and links between the nodes signify collaborative relationships. The diverse colors of the nodes represent different years. The larger the node area, the greater the number of publications. The purple ring indicates centrality of literature, and nodes with high centrality are considered as pivotal points.

Table 7 Top 5 Publications and Centrality of Cited Authors Related to Dry Needling on MPS

Rank	Publications	Cited Author	Rank	Centrality	Cited Author
1	250	Simons DG	1	0.42	Gerwin RD
2	201	Hong CZ	2	0.30	Hong CZ
3	189	Dommmerholt J	3	0.20	Fischer AA
4	142	Shah JP	4	0.18	Eewards Janet
5	127	Fernandez-de-las-penas C	5	0.17	Travell J

Figure 7 Map of cited authors dedicating to DN treatment for MPS. The nodes in the map represent co-cited authors, and links between the nodes signify co-citation relationships. The diverse colors of the nodes represent different years. The larger the node area, the greater the number of co-citations. The purple ring indicates centrality of literature, and nodes with high centrality are considered as pivotal points.

Table 8 Top 5 Frequency of Cited References Related to Dry Needling on MPS

Rank	Frequency	Cited Reference	Author and Publication Year
1	65	The Effectiveness of Trigger Point Dry Needling for Musculoskeletal Conditions by Physical Therapists: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis	Gattie E, (2017)
2	48	Effectiveness of dry needling for upper-quarter myofascial pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis	Kietrys DM, (2013)
3	42	Effectiveness of dry needling for myofascial trigger points associated with neck and shoulder pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis	Liu L, (2015)
4	31	The effect of dry needling in the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome: a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial	Tekin L, (2013)
5	27	Evidence for Dry Needling in the Management of Myofascial Trigger Points Associated With Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis	Liu L, (2018)

Table 9 Top 5 Centrality of Cited References Related to Dry Needling on MPS

Rank	Centrality	Cited Reference	Author and Publication Year
1	0.36	Short-term changes in neck pain, widespread pressure pain sensitivity, and cervical range of motion after the application of trigger point dry needling in patients with acute mechanical neck pain: a randomized clinical trial	Mejuto-Vazquez MJ, (2014)
2	0.20	Comparison of the short-term outcomes between trigger point dry needling and trigger point manual therapy for the management of chronic mechanical neck pain: a randomized clinical trial	Llamas-Ramos R, (2014)
3	0.19	Dry needle stimulation of myofascial trigger points evokes segmental anti-nociceptive effects	Srbely JZ, (2010)
4	0.18	The myofascial trigger point region: correlation between the degree of irritability and the prevalence of endplate noise	Kuan TS, (2007)
5	0.17	An expansion of Simons’ integrated hypothesis of trigger point formation	Gerwin Robert D, (2004)

Figure 8 (A) Map of cited references related to DN treatment for MPS. The nodes in the map represent cited references, and links between the nodes signify co-citation relationships. The diverse colors of the nodes represent different years. The larger the node area, the greater the number of co-citations. The purple ring indicates centrality of literature, and nodes with high centrality are considered as pivotal points. (B) Timeline view of DN for MPS.

Table 10 Top 5 Frequency and Centrality of Keywords Related to Dry Needling on MPS

Rank	Frequency	Keyword	Rank	Centrality	Keyword
1	283	Myofascial trigger points	1	0.52	Double blind
2	206	Dry needling	2	0.37	Myofascial pain syndrome
3	135	Management	3	0.28	Botulinum toxin
4	134	Myofascial pain syndrome	4	0.25	Efficacy
5	112	Acupuncture	5	0.23	Musculoskeletal pain
6	81	Reliability	6	0.22	Acupuncture
7	59	Neck pain	7	0.22	Neck pain
8	56	Prevalence	8	0.18	Mechanical back pain
9	54	Low back pain	9	0.18	Disorders
10	54	Muscle	10	0.18	Local twitch response

Figure 9 (A) Map of keywords related to DN treatment for MPS. The nodes in the map represent keywords, and links between the nodes signify co-occurrence relationships. The diverse colors of the nodes represent different years. The larger the node area, the greater the number of co-occurrences. The purple ring indicates centrality of literature, and nodes with high centrality are considered as pivotal points. (B) Top 15 keywords with the strongest citation bursts. The red line indicated a sudden burst of keywords during the relevant period, whereas the blue line means unpopularity.