• Xuan Zhou, Qingyu Ma, Juan Yang, Arya B Mohabbat, Ivana T Croghan, Celia la Choo Tan, Jiaxu Chen, and Brent A Bauer.
• Formula-Pattern Research Center, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2023 Apr 21; 102 (16): e33628e33628.

BackgroundTuina has gained widespread attention and utilization for the management of chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNLBP). However, evidence-based guidance for choosing accurate and appropriate outcome measures of Tuina is lacking. The objective of this study is to systematically synthesize the existing outcome measures reported in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating Tuina therapy in CNLBP.MethodsElectronic literature searches were conducted in multiple English and Chinese databases from their inception to May 2022. RCTs were included if they involved clinical outcome measures in Tuina treatment for patients with CNLBP. Outcome instruments for each study were extracted and analyzed. Evidence from included studies were assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool.ResultsOf the 735 identified articles, 17 articles with 1628 participants were included. Measurement domains in these RCTs were mainly reported in terms of pain (94%) and physical activity (71%), followed by safety (41%), Chinese medicine outcome (35%), and quality of life (12%). Moreover, several limitations with existing outcomes were reported, including lack of emphasis on the evaluation of quality of life, inadequate safety monitoring, as well as insufficient and vague Chinese medicine outcome measures. All trials were deemed to be of poor methodological quality.ConclusionPain and physical disability were the most frequently studied outcome domains in CNLBP treated by Tuina therapy. More rigorous and high-quality trials with appropriately selected outcome measures are needed in the future.Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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