Kose Halil C
Pain Medicine, Kocaeli City Hospital, Kocaeli, TUR.
Cureus. 2023 May 4;15(5):e38554. doi: 10.7759/cureus.38554. eCollection 2023 May.
Facet joint injection (FJI) is a minimally invasive procedure used to relieve pain and inflammation in the facet joints of the spine. In light of the growing presence of social media, it is essential to comprehend its effects on the healthcare industry. Little is known about how FJI is discussed on Instagram. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics and production sources of FJI-related posts on Instagram.
This study provides a descriptive analysis of Instagram posts with the keywords #facetjointinjection, #facetjointinjections, #facetinjection, #facetinjections, #facetblock, and #facetblocks on March 1, 2023. The results were categorized by source into four groups; posts created by healthcare professionals (surgeon/non-surgeon), medical organizations, patients, or not otherwise specified. The content was categorized by type (educational and patient/physician experience) and user influence (number of followers and posts).
The search resulted in 2718 posts. Most post uploaders were mainly physicians (43.1%, n = 275). The distribution of remaining Instagram users with FJIs posts was as follows: 27.1% (n=173) patients, 16.3% (n=104) medical organizations, and 13.4% (n=86) not otherwise specified. Among the posts, 1136 (41.7 %) were from accounts created by patients, 1015 (37.3%) by physicians, 441 (16.2%) by medical organizations, and 126 (4.6%) were unspecified. The analysis showed a significant difference in the distribution of posts among patients and physicians, as well as patients and other unspecified groups (p<0.05). The reported side effects were as follows: pain around the injection site (36%), swelling (17%), weight gain (15%), and anxiety (32%).
This study demonstrates that physicians are widely present on social media. However, when searching for posts about facet joint interventions, posts written by patients are more likely to be seen by the public. The results of this article emphasize the impact physicians have on online platforms and the need to raise FJI awareness on Instagram. Due to a lack of information and their anxiety about the unknown, patients have voiced hesitation about undergoing FJIs. To address this issue, it is the responsibility of physicians to enhance the accessibility of accurate information for patients in order to alleviate their anxiety. Additionally, reputable pain medicine societies and qualified specialists should upload credible posts on facet joint interventions that include accurate information, high-quality images and videos, and proper scientific commentary, with the aim of enhancing the quality of online health information.
小关节注射（FJI）是一种用于缓解脊柱小关节疼痛和炎症的微创手术。鉴于社交媒体的日益普及，了解其对医疗行业的影响至关重要。关于FJI在照片墙（Instagram）上的讨论情况，人们知之甚少。本研究的目的是调查照片墙上与FJI相关帖子的特征和来源。
本研究对2023年3月1日带有关键词#小关节注射、#小关节注射术、#关节突关节注射、#关节突关节注射术、#关节突阻滞和#关节突阻滞术的照片墙帖子进行了描述性分析。结果按来源分为四组；由医疗专业人员（外科医生/非外科医生）、医疗机构、患者创建的帖子，或未另行说明来源的帖子。内容按类型（教育性和患者/医生经验）和用户影响力（关注者数量和帖子数量）进行分类。
搜索结果为2718条帖子。大多数帖子发布者主要是医生（43.1%，n = 275）。其余发布FJI相关帖子的照片墙用户分布如下：患者27.1%（n = 173），医疗机构16.3%（n = 104），未另行说明来源的13.4%（n = 86）。在这些帖子中，1136条（41.7%）来自患者创建的账户，1015条（37.3%）来自医生，441条（16.2%）来自医疗机构，126条（4.6%）来源未明确。分析显示，患者与医生之间以及患者与其他未明确群体之间的帖子分布存在显著差异（p<0.05）。报告的副作用如下：注射部位周围疼痛（36%）、肿胀（17%）、体重增加（15%）和焦虑（32%）。
本研究表明医生在社交媒体上广泛存在。然而，在搜索有关小关节干预的帖子时，公众更有可能看到患者撰写的帖子。本文的结果强调了医生对在线平台的影响以及在照片墙上提高对FJI认识的必要性。由于信息不足以及对未知情况的焦虑，患者对接受FJI表示犹豫。为解决这一问题，医生有责任提高患者获取准确信息的便利性，以减轻他们的焦虑。此外，知名的疼痛医学学会和合格的专家应上传关于小关节干预的可靠帖子，包括准确的信息、高质量的图像和视频以及恰当的科学评论，以提高在线健康信息的质量。
