Reclassifying therapeutic strategies:The 5R model and role of acupunctureOA

Mainstream medicine commonly categorizes acupuncture as“alternative and complementary,”a designation that reflects conceptual gaps in existing treatment classification systems.Integrating complementary medicine into the mainstream medical system requires a conceptual adjustment.Here,Ⅰ propose a mechanism-based 5R classification—Removing,Repairing,Replacing,Replenishing,Regulating—to systematically categorize therapies.Based on this classification,acupuncture and its related interventions fall under functional regulation therapy.This framework offers a unified,functional perspective that facilitates the integration of complementary medicine into mainstream medical taxonomy.