| Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of moxibustion in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Methods A total of 7 databases in Chinese and English were retrieved (from the beginning of the database until November 2017). Literatures were screened according to the pre-defined inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. Research quality was evaluated with the risk assessment tool, and meta-analysis was conducted using Revman5.3 software. Results A total of 881 literatures were retrieved and 8 studies were included in 7 literatures. Compared with conventional treatment, moxibustion method could improve the overall health [MD=5.66, 95% CI(1.16, 10.16)], psychological dimension [MD=6.64, 95% CI(0.18, 13.10)], and physical activity [MD=3.60, 95% CI(0.18, 7.02)] of PMOP patients. Compared with conventional treatment, the combined treatment with moxibustion was more effective in treating PMOP. It could improve bone density [MD=0.04, 95% CI(0.01, 0.07)] of PMOP patients, relieve osteoporosis pain [MD=-1.15, 95%CI(-1.77, -0.53)], improve patient blood calcium [MD=0.09, 95%CI(0.01, 0.17)], increase serum BALP content [MD=9.16, 95%CI(4.5, 13.82)], and improve clinical efficiency (OR = 4.66, 95% CI(1.7, 12.81)]. The effects of reducing serum BGP [MD=-1.37, 95%CI(-2.27, -0.47)], ALP [MD=-6.27, 95%CI(-12.43, -0.11)] and tracp-5b content [MD=-0.44, 95%CI(-0.8, -0.08)] were significant. Adverse reactions have not been reported in the original studies included. Conclusion Compared with the conventional treatment of western medicine, moxibustion has advantages in improving the quality of life of PMOP patients, and has the effect of adjuvant treatment in improving bone density, relieving pain, improving blood calcium, serum BGP and other biochemical indicators. In addition, moxibustion is relatively safe in the treatment of PMOP. |