A New Trend of Social Media and Medicine: Analyzing the Quality and Educational Value of Ankle Sprain-Related Videos on TikTok

Abstract

Category: Ankle; Sports Introduction/Purpose: Social media platforms, like TikTok, have become popular options for the distribution of healthcare information. Due to the lack of scientific oversight, the quality of healthcare-related videos has become a focus of the current literature. However, orthopaedic surgery has lagged behind other fields in acknowledging the widespread utilization of TikTok videos for medical information consumption. This study aims to assess the quality and educational benefits of ankle sprain-related TikTok videos. Methods: TikTok was queried using the hashtag “#anklesprainexercises". 100 videos were included after applying the exclusion criteria. The number of views, likes, shares, comments, and favorites was recorded. The content was graded using DISCERN (a well-validated informational analysis tool) and ASEES (a self-designed tool for exercise evaluation). Results: The total number of views of the 100 videos included was 6,483,412, with a median of 5,377.5 (IQR = 1,074- 20,275). The videos collectively received 385,847 likes, 3,642 comments, 55,574 favorites, and 14,918 shares with a median of 267.5 (IQR=41.5-1,678.0), 4.0 (IQR= 0.0-23.0), 42.0 (IQR= 4.8-264.5), and 13.0 (IQR= 1.8-67.8), respectively. General users uploaded more videos (68%) in comparison to healthcare professionals (32%). The dissemination statistics between the general users and healthcare professionals were statistically insignificant. There were significant differences in DISCERN 1, DISCERN 3, TOTAL DISCERN, and ASEES between the two groups. General users had a higher percentage of videos graded as “very poor” (61.8%) in comparison to healthcare professionals (34.4%). Neither general users nor healthcare professionals had videos graded “good” or “excellent”. Conclusion: Although TikTok is a powerful tool for information distribution, the educational value of the videos related to ankle sprain injury exercises was poor. With only 2% of videos receiving a grade of ‘fair,’ and no videos reaching a score of ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, healthcare professionals should be aware of the low-quality content easily accessible on TikTok.