Introduction: Headache disorders are among one of the most common nervous system disorders affecting approximately 50% of adults worldwide. Acupuncture is a therapy originating from traditional Chinese medicine; some research has suggested that its use may relieve headache disorders. The objective of the present bibliometric analysis is to capture the characteristics of peer-reviewed publications at the intersection of headache and acupuncture research.
Methods: Searches were run on July 08, 2021, and results were exported on the same day to prevent discrepancies between daily database updates. Trends associated with this subset of publications were identified and presented. Bibliometric networks were constructed and visualized using the software tool VOSviewer.
Results: A total of 592 publications, published by 1482 authors were published in 231 journals from 1965 to 2021. An upward trend in the annual number of publications can be observed starting in the mid-1970s. The journal that published the largest number of publications was Deutsche Zeitschrift Fur Akupunktur. The most productive countries included China and Germany.
Conclusions: The present study provides the characteristics of the literature at the intersection of headache disorders and acupuncture that allows understanding of the past, present, and future of research in this area.