SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2026
Application of extracorporeal shock wave therapy in pain management: a bibliometric analysis of current advances and trends.
Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to map the global research landscape, emerging topics, key contributors, and developmental trends in extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for pain management. Methods: English-language publications on ESWT for pain management published from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2025, were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), with PubMed used for independent validation. Using software such as Excel, VOSviewer, RStudio, CiteSpace, BICOMB, and Incites, we conduct visual analyses of basic literature information, publication patterns, output trends, countries/regions, institutions, journals, keywords, and influential authors. Results: Of 1,520 records identified, 774 WoSCC articles met the inclusion criteria. Research output increased substantially over time and involved 57 countries or regions. China and Italy were the most productive countries, whereas Germany showed the highest citation impact. Maffulli N was the most prolific author, and Rompe JD ranked first in citation frequency and h-index. Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research was the most frequently cited journal. Keyword and citation analyses identified major themes including plantar fasciitis, shoulder disorders, low back pain, lateral epicondylitis, chronic pelvic pain syndrome, knee osteoarthritis, core decompression, and myofascial pain syndrome. Musculoskeletal pain remained the dominant focus, whereas knee osteoarthritis, chronic pelvic pain syndrome, and myofascial pain syndrome emerged as growing topics. PubMed validation including 555 articles showed comparable publication trends and core research themes. Conclusion: ESWT research in pain management has progressed from early efficacy validation toward translational expansion, mechanistic investigation, regenerative applications, and broader clinical indications. Cross-database validation supports the robustness of the WoSCC-based findings. Future studies should prioritize multicenter randomized trials, standardized treatment protocols, mechanistic exploration, and international collaboration to strengthen the physiological and clinical evidence base for ESWT as a non-pharmacological pain-management strategy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.