Exercise Therapy for Low Back Pain in the last Decade: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis using CiteSpace

Abstract

Objective: To undertake a bibliometric analysis of research on exercise therapy for low-back pain (LBP) from 2012 to 2022. Methods: The literature related to exercise therapy for LBP published in 2012–2022 was obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection database. CiteSpace 5.8.R3 was used to draw visual knowledge maps and analyze: publications, countries, and institutions; cited journals, authors, and cited authors; references; keywords; keywords with strongest citation bursts. Results: A total of 1557 publications were included in the analysis. During the study period, the overall trend of the number of publications in this field was increasing. The USA and University of Sydney was the most productive and influential country and institution, respectively. BMC Musculoskeletal Disease, with the most articles published, was the major journal for research on using exercise therapy for LBP in the past decade. Spine was the most cited journal. Rehabilitation was the most popular subject. Costa et al, Hayden and colleagues, and Hides and collaborators were active in this field. Keywords with the strongest citation bursts were “chronic musculoskeletal pain”, “patient education”, “muscle activity”, and “individual”. Conclusions: Research on exercise therapy for LBP has continued to increase in the last decade. This analysis of the research in this field can promote research into exercise therapy; help to find a better exercise program; aid exploration of the therapeutic mechanism of exercise therapy; help researchers find better partners, master the latest and hottest topics, and track the development trends in this field.