Table 4. The specific number of studies included and basic characteristics of treatments for each intervention.
| Intervention | Condition | Study (N) | Patients (N) | Duration of one treatment (minutes)$ | Treatment sessions (times)$ | Course of Treatment (weeks)$ | Number of acupoints selected$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acupuncture | NP | 17 | 1434 | 25 (20, 30) | 8.5 (5.8, 10.5) | 4 (3, 4.5) | 6 (5.8, 10) |
| LBP | 31 | 6656 | 25 (20, 30) | 10 (6, 12) | 4.5 (3.3, 7) | 9.8 (6, 14) | |
| Acupressure | NP | 1 | 32 | 35–40 | 8 | 3 | 7 |
| LBP | 5 | 417 | 15 or 30 | 8 (6, 9) | 4 (3, 4) | 7 or 18 | |
| Cupping | NP | 5 | 251 | 10 or 15 | 5 (4, 6) | 2 | n.a. |
| LBP | 6 | 415 | 15 or 20 | 7.5 (3.5, 10) | 3 (1.9, 3) | n.a. | |
| Gua sha | NP | 2 | 69 | 15 or 30 | 1 | n.a. | |
| LBP | 1 | 19 | 15 | 1 | n.a. | ||
| Qi gong | NP | 3 | 378 | 60 (45, 90) | 18 (12, 18) | 12 | n.a. |
| LBP | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Tai chi | NP | 0 | 0 | ||||
| LBP | 1 | 170 | 40 | 18 | 10 | n.a. | |
| Chinese herbal medicine | NP | 3 | 840 | n.a. | 8 (8, 12) | 4 | |
| LBP | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Chinese manipulation | NP | 3 | 396 | 20 | 8 (8, 10) | 4 (4, 5) | n.a. |
| LBP | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Moxibustion | NP | 0 | 0 | ||||
| LBP | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Tuina | NP | 0 | 0 | ||||
| LBP | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 75* | 11077 |
LBP, low back pain; NP, neck pain; N, number; RCT, randomized controlled trial; n.a., not applicable.
*Some of the studies were included into two or more rows.
$The results were shown as median and interquartile range.