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August 19, 2026British Journal of Sports Medicine

Efficacy and evidence certainty of traditional Chinese exercises for musculoskeletal disorders: an umbrella review of meta-analyses

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Authors

WCWen-Xiao ChenLiaoning University of Traditional Chinese MedicineYLYi-Zi LiChina Medical UniversityLKLong-Dan KangFirst Hospital of China Medical University

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Overview

Umbrella review demonstrates that traditional Chinese exercises improve pain, physical function, and bone density in musculoskeletal disorders, highlighting substantial clinical benefits with...

Key Points

  • To comprehensively evaluate the efficacy, optimal prescription parameters, and evidence certainty of traditional Chinese exercises for health outcomes across various musculoskeletal disorders.
  • Umbrella review searching nine biomedical databases through March 2026 for systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (PROSPERO CRD420251080573).
  • Included 92 meta-analyses encompassing 1,744 primary randomized controlled trials and 547 unique outcome associations.
  • Evaluated methodological quality using AMSTAR (70.7% rated high) and evidence certainty using the GRADE framework.
  • High-certainty evidence demonstrated significant improvements in physical function for knee osteoarthritis, mental health for knee osteoarthritis and neck pain, and sleep quality for fibromyalgia.
  • Tai Chi significantly alleviated chronic pain and joint stiffness while increasing bone mineral density in osteopenia and osteoporosis.
  • Subgroup analyses revealed that longer intervention durations, higher session frequencies, and moderate-to-high weekly exercise volumes yielded greater therapeutic gains for knee osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

Cite This Study

Chen et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a85637603308d306e2d6a96https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2026-111792
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