SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1514231
The Clinical Effect and Safety of Non-pharmacological Chinese Medicine Therapy in treating Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain: a Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis Protocol
Provisionally accepted
- Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
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Introduction: Chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNLBP) significantly affects individual well-being, compromising physical health, quality of life, and productivity. As healthcare approaches expand, Non-pharmacological Chinese Medicine Therapies (NPCMT) have garnered global interest. This systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) aims to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness and prioritization of various NPCMT interventions for CNLBP, including acupuncture, tui na, gua sha, cupping therapy, taijiquan, baduanjin, yijinjing, and qigong, ultimately providing evidence-based recommendations for healthcare professionals.Methods and Analysis: Our strategy encompasses a meticulous hunt for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluate Non-pharmacological Chinese Medicine Therapies for treating chronic nonspecific low back pain. This exploration will span an array of databases, such as Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Wanfang Database, China Biology Medicine disc, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Our examination will be comprehensive, encompassing evaluations of risk of bias, meta-analytic procedures, analyses of subgroups and sensitivity, assessments concerning publication bias, and the determination of the quality of evidence.Conclusion:This study aims to offer valuable insights into the safety and efficacy of various Non-pharmacological Chinese Medicine therapies for patients with CNLBP. It is hoped that these findings will guide future clinical practice and research in identifying the most suitable treatment methods for CNLBP patients.
Keywords: Non-pharmacological Chinese Medicine Therapies, Chronic nonspecific low back pain, Network meta-analysis, protocol, System Rview
Received: 20 Oct 2024; Accepted: 21 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cui, Liu and Zhang. 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: Fuli Zhang, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
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.