#KneeOsteotomy: Evaluation of the Quality and Educational Value of TikTok Videos

Background: TikTok videos on orthopaedic topics receive high engagement, but the quality of content on knee osteotomies is unclear. Purpose: To assess the quality, reliability, and educational value of TikTok videos on knee osteotomy. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: TikTok was searched for “knee osteotomy,”“high tibial osteotomy,” and “distal femoral osteotomy,” yielding 789 videos. A total of 191 met inclusion criteria. Video metrics (duration, views, likes, shares), uploader type (private user, physical therapist, physician, researcher), and content type (patient experiences, physical therapy and rehabilitation, anatomy, surgical technique) were recorded. Quality was assessed using the DISCERN instrument, Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA ) benchmark criteria, and Global Quality Score (GQS). Associations between video metrics and quality scores were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation, and Mann-Whitney U tests evaluated differences in scores by uploader type and content type. Results: Most videos were posted by private users (145; 75.9%) and focused on patient experiences (128; 67.0%). Mean duration was 34.4 ± 40.8 seconds (range, 4-317 seconds). Videos received a mean of 3122.3 ± 16,845.1 likes (range, 0-197,400 likes), 223.9 ± 1891.3 shares (range, 0-25,900 shares), and 166,863.0 ± 1,002,969.9 views (range, 70-12,700,000 views). Mean DISCERN, JAMA , and GQS scores were 32.1 ± 18.4, 1.7 ± 1.1, and 2.6 ± 0.9. Video duration, shares, and views correlated with all quality scores ( P < .05), while likes correlated weakly with DISCERN only ( P < .05). Videos from health care professionals (physicians, physical therapists, researchers) achieved significantly higher quality scores than private users (DISCERN 56.0 ± 14.2 vs. 24.5 ± 11.9; GQS 3.6 ± 0.8 vs. 2.2 ± 0.5; JAMA 3.2 ± 1.0 vs. 1.3 ± 0.7; all p < 0.001). Educational videos (anatomy, physical therapy/rehabilitation, surgical technique) scored significantly higher quality scores than patient experience videos (DISCERN, 52.8 ± 16.8 vs 21.9 ± 6.9; GQS, 3.6 ± 1.0 vs 2.1 ± 0.3; JAMA , 2.9 ± 1.2 vs 1.1 ± 0.3; all P < .001). Conclusion: TikTok videos related to knee osteotomy demonstrated overall low quality. Although videos produced by health care professionals achieved higher quality scores, overall content quality remained limited.