INTRODUCTION: Cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR) is the most common 
pattern of cervical spondylosis, which is a serious and common degenerative 
disease. Both acupotomy and acupuncture have been widely used clinically to 
treat CSR in China with satisfied efficacy. However, there is no systematic 
review comparing the effectiveness of these two therapies. The aim of this study 
is to compare the therapeutic efficacy and safety between acupotomy and 
acupuncture for patients with CSR to provide evidence for clinical practice.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The following electronic databases will be searched: Web 
of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge 
Infrastructure , China Biology Medicine disc, Wanfang Database and Chinese 
Scientific Journal Database (VIP). The randomised controlled trials of acupotomy 
versus acupuncture with/without additional treatment for CSR will be searched in 
the databases from their inception to December 2018 by two researchers 
independently. Visual analogue scale, symptom score and neck disability index 
will be assessed as the primary outcomes. The total effective rate, curative 
rate, adverse events and amount of rescue medication used will be assessed as 
the secondary outcomes. The Review Manager 5.3 will be used for meta-analysis 
and the evidence level will be assessed by using the method for Grading of 
Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation. Continuous outcomes will 
be presented as the weighted mean difference or standardised mean difference 
with 95% CI, whereas dichotomous data will be expressed as relative risk with 
95% CI. If the included studies have existing heterogeneity (p<0.05), then a 
random-effects model will be used. Otherwise, we will calculate using a 
fixed-effects model.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is not required because no primary 
data are collected. This review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and 
will be presented at an international academic conference for dissemination.
PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019117348.