Acupuncture for osteoporosis shows a recurring core set of treatment points linked to biological pathways that may support bone formation and protection.
The researchers systematically searched Chinese and international medical databases for clinical trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses of acupuncture for primary osteoporosis published through October 2018. They assessed review quality using visual evidence-quality plots, extracted acupuncture prescriptions and point selections, and applied a traditional Chinese medicine data-mining system to identify commonly connected meridians, point combinations, and core treatment points. They also reviewed published mechanistic studies concerning the identified points.
Across the included literature, acupuncture prescriptions most often emphasized the bladder meridian and repeatedly combined several points associated with kidney, spleen, digestive, governing vessel, conception vessel, and leg pathways. A network centred on several frequently co-used points emerged, suggesting a relatively consistent acupuncture strategy for primary osteoporosis. The proposed biological explanation was that these points may influence signalling systems involved in bone remodelling, promoting bone-forming activity and limiting bone breakdown, although the quality of the underlying evidence varied among reviews.
