Systematic review of clinical practice guidelines on acupuncture for chronic musculoskeletal pain.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Acupuncture is increasingly utilised in primary care to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain, supported by a growing body of evidence. This rising adoption has driven demand for clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). We summarised the characteristics of recent acupuncture CPGs for osteoarthritis, low back pain, neck pain, and shoulder pain, and critically appraised their methodological quality.

Methods

We searched nine databases to identify acupuncture CPGs published from January 2014 to November 2024. Eligible CPGs were required to be developed by guideline committees and to include evidence-informed recommendations linked to clearly defined levels of evidence. Two independent reviewers extracted CPG characteristics and assessed methodological quality using the Ap

SUBMITTER: Ho L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12403485 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature