ArticleJournal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews2024
#lowbackpain on TikTok: A New Frontier for Orthopaedic Medical Education.
Article in Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Article
- Assessing the Quality of Consumer Health Information Within the Realm of Shoulder Injuries on TikTok.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Swipe, watch, learn? An analysis of TikTok as a source of patient education on spondylolisthesis.Brain & spine · 2026Article
- Assessing the educational impact and quality of medical microvideos on TikTok: the case of Latin America.Medical education online · 2025Article
- Acute Knee Injury-Related TikTok Videos Are Frequently Inaccurate, Incomplete, and Created by Nonphysicians.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- TikTok and Orthopaedic Education: Engaging the Next Generation of Patients.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2025Article
- Most TikTok Videos Regarding the Anterolateral Ligament of the Knee Are Posted by Patients and Have Little Educational Value.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Comparative Analysis of Knee Osteoarthritis Treatment Information on Popular Social Media Platforms.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2025Article
- How Useful Is TikTok for Patients Searching for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome-Related Treatment Exercises?Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Language Complexity Shapes Engagement with Orthopaedic Information on Social Media: A Prospective Analysis.JB & JS open accessArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionLow back pain has become a substantial health problem in all developed countries. Many healthcare professionals and content creators have begun sharing their treatment methods and opinions through social media, especially the video-based platform TikTok. TikTok has been downloaded more than 2.6 billion times with over a billion daily users. Its influence on public health makes it imperative that information be accurate and safe. This study aims to analyze TikTok's most popular content on lower back pain and how orthopaedic surgeons contribute on this growing platform.
objectivesTo analyze TikTok's most popular content on lower back pain and how orthopaedic surgeons are and can contribute on this growing platform.
methodsA TikTok search conducted on April 22, 2023, using the terms '#lowerbackpain'and '#lowbackpainrelief,' resulted in numerous videos, 100 of which met inclusion criteria. Videos were included if they were related to the content, had more than 1000 views, were in English, and were not duplicates. Video characteristics were recorded and evaluated for quality by two reviewers using DISCERN. A two-sample t-test was used to assess differences.
resultsOverall, the top videos on lower back pain had an average of 2,061,396 views, with a mean DISCERN score of 34. The mean total DISCERN score was 36 and 34 for physicians and nonphysicians, respectively, while the video by the orthopaedic surgeon (n = 1) scored 31. The most recommended treatments included at-home exercises (n = 75) and visiting a chiropractor (n = 4).
conclusionWe find that the information presented by nonphysicians offered quick, at-home fixes to medical problems without offering any research or proven data to support their claims. We cannot overlook Tiktok's immense influence in the realm of orthopaedic health as it has become a sphere of information dissemination and education. Thus, we suggest that there is not necessarily a need for a greater number of surgeons and/or resident physicians to involve themselves on the platform, but rather the involvement of governing bodies and spine societies to put out position statements for our patients.
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