Therapeutic Effects of Traditional Chinese Exercises on Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background. The number of patients with musculoskeletal pain, which seriously affects people’s quality of life, has increased. Traditional Chinese exercises are accepted and practiced to strengthen the body. Objective. This study aims to explore the efficacy of traditional Chinese exercises for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain. Methods. A comprehensive search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to traditional Chinese exercises on patients with musculoskeletal pain was completed using PubMed, SinoMed, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang Med Online databases. All RCTs published until February 2021 were considered. Two researchers independently screened the literature according to the predesigned inclusion and exclusion criteria, and data was extracted and assessed for their risk of bias via the Cochrane collaboration tool. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan5.2 and Rx64 4.0.2 software. Results. A total of 45 RCT studies with 3178 patients were included. Traditional Chinese exercises were able to effectively alleviate patients with musculoskeletal pain (MD = −1.54, 95% confidence interval (−1.88, −1.19), P