Bibliometric Analysis of Exercise and Neuropathic Pain Research

• Main Authors: Chen YM, Wang XQ
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2020-06-01
• Series: Journal of Pain Research
• Subjects: exercise; neuropathic pain; bibliometrics; research trends
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/bibliometric-analysis-of-exercise-and-neuropathic-pain-research-peer-reviewed-article-JPR

Yu-Meng Chen,1 Xue-Qiang Wang2,3 1Department of Rehabilitation, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Sport Rehabilitation, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai Shangti Orthopaedic Hospital, Shanghai, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xue-Qiang WangDepartment of Sport Rehabilitation, Shanghai University of Sport, 188 Hengren Road, Shanghai 200438, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [e-mail]: Neuropathic pain, a type of chronic pain, is difficult to treat clinically. Mounting evidence suggests that exercise can effectively ease neuropathic pain, and the number of publications related to exercise and neuropathic pain has increased over time. However, bibliometrics is rarely used in analyzing the general aspects of studies on exercise and neuropathic pain. The present study aims to provide a systematic overview of global scientific research related to exercise and neuropathic pain from 2005 to 2019.Methods: Publications on Science Citation Index – Expanded of Web of Science from 2005 to 2019 were searched, and those related to exercise and neuropathic pain were analyzed. Only English papers were included without specific species restrictions.Results: A total of 676 papers were included in accordance with our adopted criteria. Linear regression analysis showed a statistically meaningful increase in the number of publications on exercise and neuropathic pain study over time (p< 0.001). The subject categories of the 676 papers mainly focused on neuroscience (29.88%), clinical neurology (18.79%) and rehabilitation (10.06%) in Web of Science. In terms of contribution to scientific research on exercise and neuropathic pain, the United States led the first echelon and had the largest numbers of published papers, citations and H-index.Conclusion: The findings in our study may provide researchers useful information about research trends and frontiers, cooperators and cooperative institutions.Keywords: exercise, neuropathic pain, bibliometrics, research trends