It’s not remarkable that common phrases like “lower back strain” and “pulled muscle” are frequent search terms on Google and Spine-health.com.
There are many topics, however, that large numbers of patients are researching online —and some of these are pretty surprising. Here are a few:
1. Vertebral Osteomyelitis. Content about this condition is much more popular that you would think. Perhaps this is because a Spine-health article by Alex Vaccaro, MD, about vertebral osteomyelitis is top-ranked on Google and has been big on social media - reaching a quarter million people on Facebook.
2. L5-S1 Pathology. It makes sense that patients want to know a few general things about their spinal anatomy to help them better understand their pathology, but it's surprising to see how much detail they seek out. Two of Spine-health's most popular articles, written by David DeWitt, MD, of NeuroSpine Center of Wisconsin, are specifically about L5-S1 and L4-L5 pathology.
3. Spinal Stenosis. Who says people older than 60 aren't online? With more than 6 million people researching spinal stenosis on Spine-health each year, we know this demographic is active. The article "What Is Spinal Stenosis" by John Shim, MD, of Tampa, Florida, leads the way in this category, with over 3 million yearly views.
4. Cervical Artificial Disc Replacement. A big topic among patients online is cervical artificial discs, with more than a quarter million annual views on Spine-health. The recently updated articles by Jeffrey Goldstein, MD, director of Spine Service at NYU Langone Medical Center Hospital for Joint Diseases, were widely shared on social media and reached more than 200,000 people on Facebook.
5. Fusion Implants. Who knew patients would be interested in the details of which implant is used in their spinal fusion? In a recent survey on Spine-health, 60% of respondents said they prefer titanium over plastic and cadaver bone, and this is backed up by the response on social media, with over 3,500 Facebook likes to blogs by Daniel Bradley, MD, and Kyle Colle, MD, referencing their take on recent scientific publications on Titan Spine's titanium implant.
6. Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction. A few years ago, “lower back pain” was the search term everyone used to find information about their back pain symptoms. During the past 2 years, however, “sacroiliac joint dysfunction” has taken off as a leading search term of choice. Due to popular interest in this topic, Spine-health gets over 6 million views yearly on content about SI joint dysfunction and treatment options.
7. Leg Pain. When people want to know if their leg pain starts with a problem in their back, they can find ready answers with Google's top-ranked article written by Grant Cooper, MD, of Princeton Spine and Joint Center, which is read more than 3 million times a year.
8. Ankylosing Spondylitis. During the past few years, we have seen a significant increase in patients searching for information about this condition. There are now over a quarter-million views annually to the ankylosing spondylitis content on Spine-health and Arthritis-health.com.
The bottom line is that we are seeing a clear trend in patients seeking more detailed information about their conditions and treatments. The good news for physicians is that fewer patients are relying on message boards and commercial information; rather, they're increasingly seeking out reliable, peer-reviewed information — similar to the high quality of information medical journals provide.