Background: Acupuncture has been widely used in the clinical management of osteoarthritis of the knee (KOA). Many systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) have reported its effectiveness in relieving pain. This overview aimed to summarize SRs and MAs on the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for KOA and evaluate their methodological and evidence quality of the included SRs and MAs. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search for SRs and MAs in four Chinese and four international databases from their inception until August 2021. Two researchers independently searched the reviews, extracted the data, and cross-checked the data. The Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2) tool was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included SRs and MAs. The Grades of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system was used to assess the quality of evidence for the outcomes of the included SRs and MAs. Results: A total of 14 SRs and MAs were included. The evaluation results of the AMSTAR 2 tool showed that the methodological quality of all the 14 SRs and MAs was critically low. The principal causes are the lack of a pre-registration proposal and a list of excluded studies and justify the exclusions, the report on the sources of funding, and the reasons for the study designs for inclusion. The results of the GRADE evaluation showed 25 of 46 outcomes were very low-level evidence. Seventeen were of low level, four were of moderate level and none were of high level. Most outcomes were downgraded in quality of evidence mainly because of publication bias and imprecision. Conclusion: The existing evidence suggests that acupuncture seems to be an effective and safe therapy for KOA. However, the deficiencies in the methodological quality and quality of evidence of the included SRs/MAs have limited the reliability of the conclusions. Therefore, further rigorous and comprehensive studies are warranted to verify the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in KOA.

Scoliosis is a common spinal disorder that affects 2-4% of adolescents worldwide. With the rise of short-video platforms like TikTok, they have increasingly played a significant role in health information dissemination. However, the quality and accuracy of scoliosis-related video content on these platforms have not been thoroughly studied. The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy and quality of scoliosis-related videos on TikTok. Using a cross-sectional design and a newly created TikTok account with cleared cache to minimize bias, we retrieved the platform's top 100 scoliosis-related short videos via its default sorting algorithm on August 17, 2025. Two independent reviewers with backgrounds in orthopedic surgery and health-information assessment extracted basic data and evaluated each video's quality and accuracy with the Global Quality Score (GQS, 1-5), modified DISCERN (0-5), and JAMA (0-4). Bivariate associations used Spearman's rank correlation; multivariable associations used a proportional-odds ordinal logistic model with GQS as the outcome. A total of 95 videos were included in the analysis. 5 videos were excluded due to language mismatch, redundancy, or commercial content. Video duration was median 60 s (IQR 45-87). The median number of views was 8109 (IQR 2112-33,856). Professional individuals accounted for 63.8% of the uploaded videos, while non-professional individuals contributed 33.0%. The median GQS for professional videos was 3, while for non-professional videos it was 2. The video content primarily focused on treatment (68.1%), with less emphasis on diagnosis (16%) and prevention (8.5%). The videos exhibited moderate overall quality, with median scores of 3 for GQS and mDISCERN, and 2 for JAMA, with IQRs of 2-4, 2-3, and 1-2, respectively. Videos uploaded by professional individuals had higher quality and accuracy scores. Fans correlated with mDISCERN and JAMA scores (r = 0.241, P = 0.017 and r = 0.275, P = 0.005, respectively). In the multivariable model, collections (OR = 4.287, 95% CI 1.313-13.989) and duration (OR = 2.664, 95% CI 1.370-5.182) were associated with higher GQS, whereas patient as the uploader identity (OR = 0.064, 95% CI 0.007-0.621) and prognosis content (OR = 0.052, 95% CI 0.005-0.555) were associated with lower GQS. The quality and accuracy of scoliosis-related short videos on TikTok are generally low, with lower quality and accuracy scores for non-professionals.. The main problems are lack of professional review, misleading information, and emphasis on treatment rather than prevention. It is recommended that the public exercise caution when browsing health information on short-video platforms, and that medical professionals provide higher-quality educational content. This study provides a basis for the regulation and optimization of health information on short-video platforms.

Background. The efficacy of acupuncture for acute ankle sprain (AAS) is controversial. This study aimed to critically assess the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for AAS. Methods. Parallel‐group randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included regardless of language or publication date. Participants with AAS were included regardless of age, sex, race, nationality, or diagnostic criteria for AAS. Experimental interventions included acupuncture alone or in combination with traditional therapies. Control interventions included no treatment, placebo, or traditional therapies. The primary outcome was the Kofoed ankle score. The secondary outcomes included visual analogue scale, duration of pain, use of painkiller, ankle circumference, effective rate, cure rate, and adverse events. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Digital Periodicals, and Chinese Science and Technology Periodicals database were searched to identify potentially eligible studies from inception to September 10, 2020. World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP), ClinicalTrials.gov, Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR), and the reference list of eligible RCTs were checked to identify ongoing or unpublished studies. Risk of bias was assessed by the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool. Statistical analyses were performed by RevMan 5.3 software. P < 0.05 indicated statistical significance. Results. Seventeen eligible studies were included for the statistical analysis. There was no statistically significant difference of Kofoed ankle score between acupuncture and Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation (RICE) group (P = 0.75). However, acupuncture could significantly relieve pain (P = 0.02) and increase cure rate (P = 0.004) compared with RICE. Moreover, acupuncture plus RICE could also significantly relieve pain (P < 0.00001) and increase cure rate (P = 0.01) compared with RICE alone. Acupuncture combined with massage could significantly relieve pain (P = 0.04) compared with massage alone. Acupuncture plus Chinese medicine might be more effective for relieving pain (P < 0.00001), reducing the duration of pain (P < 0.00001), and increasing cure rate (P = 0.0002) compared with Chinese medicine alone. Two studies reported no adverse reactions. One study reported that a participant suffered from mild drug‐related allergic reaction and was healed without treatment. Conclusions. The findings of the present study suggest that acupuncture may be beneficial for AAS. However, more large‐scale and well‐designed RCTs are warranted.

Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) has become a serious health issue for elderly patients. Several systematic reviews (SRs) and Meta-Analyses (MAs) have reported extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) has widely been used in the treatment of KOA. This overview aims to summarize and evaluate the available evidence for the efficacy of ESWT for KOA. Eight databases were searched from inception to December 4, 2022. The methodological quality of the included SRs/MAs was assessed by Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2) and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies in terms of outcome indicators. Eight SRs/MAs were finally included in this study. The results of the methodological quality of the included SRs/MAs were generally unsatisfactory. The limitations were a lack of explaining the reasons for selection, a list of excluded literature, reporting bias assessment, and reporting the potential sources of conflict of interest. A total of 49 outcome indicators were assessed by using the GRADE tool. Only 3 items were assessed as moderate quality and the remaining indicators were rated as low and very low. Limitations were the most common downgraded factors. ESWT is regarded as a safe and therapeutically effective non-pharmacological method for the treatment of KOA. However, the reliability of the results is affected by the generally low methodological and evidential quality of the included SRs/MAs. Future researchers should improve the quality of original studies and SRs/MAs to provide a higher level of evidence-based medical evidence.