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Bibliometric analysis of research on spinal cord injury and functional electrical stimulation: trends and frontiers

Spinal Cord (2026)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Study design

Bibliometric analysis

Objectives

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe central nervous system trauma with no effective treatment methods currently available. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) plays a significant role in the rehabilitation of SCI by employing various stimulation strategies and control methods to effectively assist clinical patients or experimental animals in improving impaired functions. This study aims to comprehensively analyze the research on electrical stimulation therapy in SCI to determine current research trends and emerging frontiers.

Setting

Not applicable.

Methods

Retrieve and compile articles related to SCI and FES from the Web of Science Core Collection spanning the years 2005–2024. Perform a bibliometric analysis, integrating statistical and visual methods, utilizing CiteSpace (version 6.2) and R (version 4.3.2).

Results

This study ultimately included a total of 1809 publications. The annual number of publications in this field is increasing year by year. China and the United States are the two most productive countries. The journal with the highest number of publications is Experimental Neurology. Additionally, the timeline view of keyword clusters and keyword bursts reveals that the main research frontiers are Exercises, Functional recovery, Neurogenic bladder.

Conclusion

In recent years, studies related to FES treatment for SCI have attracted the attention of many clinicians and scholars. This study, conducts a bibliometric analysis of FES treatment for SCI, aiming to provide practical guidance for clinicians to understand the current research status and trends in this field.

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Fig. 1: A diagram illustrating of data processing procedure.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 2: Contribution characteristics of FES in SCI research.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 3: Collaborations among institutions and degree of author contribution.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 4: Author collaboration.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 5: Statistical analysis of the journals with the published papers.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 6: Local cited references.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 7: Trends in research topics, as well as the growth, decline, and emergence of keywords in the SCI-FES field.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

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Data availability

All data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82272470), Talent Introduction and Doctoral Startup Foundation of Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital (B2417), the Youth Foundation of the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (TJWJ2025QN023) and the Outstanding Youth Foundation of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital (22ZYYJQ01).

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Hongpeng Ma, Song Liu, Fuqiang Zhu.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, 300052, China

    Hongpeng Ma, Song Liu, Fuqiang Zhu, Qi Zhang, Jian Wang, Dayu Pan & Guangzhi Ning

  2. International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, 300052, China

    Hongpeng Ma, Song Liu, Fuqiang Zhu, Qi Zhang, Jian Wang, Dayu Pan & Guangzhi Ning

  3. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, 300052, China

    Hongpeng Ma, Song Liu, Fuqiang Zhu, Qi Zhang, Jian Wang, Dayu Pan & Guangzhi Ning

  4. Tianjin Institute of Orthopedic Innovation and Transformation, Tianjin, 300052, China

    Hongpeng Ma, Song Liu, Fuqiang Zhu, Qi Zhang, Jian Wang, Dayu Pan & Guangzhi Ning

  5. Department of Spinal Surgery, Qilu Hospital (Dezhou Hospital), Shandong University, Dezhou, 253000, Shandong, China

    Fuqiang Zhu

  6. Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, China

    Shibo Zhu & Yu Qiao

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  1. Hongpeng Ma
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Contributions

Hongpeng Ma: Conceptualization, Data curation, Writing - original draft. Song Liu: Visualization, Writing - original draft. Fuqiang Zhu: Conceptualization, Formal analysis. Shibo Zhu: Formal analysis, Funding acquisition. Qi Zhang: Visualization, Formal analysis. Jian Wang: Visualization, Formal analysis. Yu Qiao: Formal analysis, Funding acquisition. Dayu Pan: Writing - Review & Editing, Project administration. Guangzhi Ning: Conceptualization, Supervision, Funding acquisition.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Dayu Pan or Guangzhi Ning.

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Ma, H., Liu, S., Zhu, F. et al. Bibliometric analysis of research on spinal cord injury and functional electrical stimulation: trends and frontiers. Spinal Cord (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-026-01213-1

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