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REVIEW article

Front. Endocrinol.

Sec. Renal Endocrinology

Advances in External Therapies of Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Management of Hyperuricemia: A Comprehensive Review

Provisionally accepted
Xiangcheng FanXiangcheng Fan1*Minyang HeMinyang He2Nannan JiangNannan Jiang3Lin JiangLin Jiang4Ting Ting TangTing Ting Tang5Qiyun ZhangQiyun Zhang4Qichang XuQichang Xu4Songze LiSongze Li4Feng ZhangFeng Zhang5Jichun HanJichun Han4
  • 1Center for Membrane Receptor and Brain Medicine, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine, and International School of Medicine, International Institutes of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Yiwu, China
  • 2Department of Gastroenterology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine, and International School of Medicine, International Institutes of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Yiwu, China
  • 3Department of Anesthesiology, The Affiliated Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital of Qingdao University, Yantai, China
  • 4College of traditional Chinese medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, China
  • 5Department of Pharmacy, Changzheng Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China

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Hyperuricemia is a prevalent metabolic disorder whose rising incidence over recent years has been closely linked to the development of gout, renal dysfunction, and cardiovascular disease, thereby exerting a substantial burden on patient quality of life. External therapies of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)-including acupuncture, tuina (therapeutic massage), bloodletting, and topical herbal applications-have been practiced for centuries and encompass a diverse array of modalities. These interventions exert their therapeutic effects by modulating meridian flow, regulating qi and blood circulation, and harmonizing visceral function, which collectively promote uric acid excretion, suppress its production, and alleviate clinical manifestations of hyperuricemia. However, the heterogeneity of techniques and the complexity of underlying mechanisms pose challenges to systematic evaluation. In this review, we critically summarize current evidence on the mechanistic basis of various TCM external therapys for hyperuricemia and document their efficacy in symptom improvement. By integrating pharmacological insights and clinical outcomes, we aim to provide a comprehensive theoretical framework to guide future research and optimize the application of external TCM therapies in managing hyperuricemia.

Keywords: Hyperuricemia, Gout, external therapy of Traditional Chinese medicine, Acupuncture, Bloodletting

Received: 16 Jul 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Fan, He, Jiang, Jiang, Tang, Zhang, Xu, Li, Zhang and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Xiangcheng Fan

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material