Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40980227›Full record

ArticleArthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation2025

Acute Knee Injury-Related TikTok Videos Are Frequently Inaccurate, Incomplete, and Created by Nonphysicians.

Levi M Travis, Jacob Jahn, Natalie K Blanc, Lee Kaplan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Levi M TravisDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.
Jacob JahnDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.
Natalie K BlancDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.
Lee KaplanDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate TikTok videos related to knee injuries, examining the accuracy and sources of the content, the category of information provided, the reach of the videos, and the capability of the videos to cause harm. Methods: On September 1, 2024, TikTok was queried using layperson's terms for acute knee injuries (e.g., "ACL tear") to identify popular hashtags. The top 10 videos per hashtag and 5 videos per search term (e.g., "knee pop") by view count were included if they related to the specified knee injury, surgery, or recovery process. Videos with fewer than 1,000 views were excluded. Metrics such as number of likes, number of views, number of comments, creator demographic characteristics, and video content type were collected, and videos were evaluated for quality using the DISCERN scoring system. Results: A total of 234 TikTok videos related to knee injuries were analyzed, averaging 699,235 views per video (median, 138,500 views). DISCERN analysis revealed that 41% of videos were rated as poor whereas 59% were satisfactory. Videos featuring medical recommendations had significantly higher engagement scores (mean, 5.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.49-6.83; Conclusions: Videos created by health care professionals, particularly physicians, scored higher in terms of educational quality but accounted for a small proportion of total content. In contrast, nonphysician creators frequently provided inaccurate or incomplete information. Despite this, videos with medical recommendations achieved higher engagement. Clinical Relevance: There is a predominance of nonphysician creators disseminating inaccurate medical information, underscoring the need for orthopaedic surgeons to engage in digital health education to provide reliable content. This study provides insights into the digital content patients may be consuming regarding their medical conditions.

Identifiers

PMID40980227
PMCPMC12447154

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.