Public Interest in Shoulder Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections Is Increasing: A 10-Year Google Trends Analysis

To quantify and analyze public interest trends in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy for shoulder pathology between 2011 and 2020 using Google Trends data.

Google Trends data were queried for online search data ranging from January 2011 to December 2020. Various combinations of terms related to PRP and shoulder pathology were queried. Terms related to corticosteroid therapy in association with shoulder pathology were also generated for comparative analysis. Analyses were performed regarding trends in online search volumes.

Linear models were generated to evaluated trends in the volume of online searches for PRP and corticosteroid therapy for shoulder pathology. For both the PRP and steroid groups, linear models showed a statistically significant increase in search volume for the period studied (P < .001). The PRP group showed a significantly greater growth rate than the steroid group (P < .001). There were no statistically significant differences in online search volume when compared between different geographic and socioeconomic locations.

This study indicates consistently increasing public interest in PRP injections in the shoulder. The rate of online search volume growth of PRP is significantly greater than that of corticosteroid injections for the period studied.

Awareness of patient perceptions has value in informing shared decision making, aligning patient expectations, and guiding areas of future research. Each of these has an impact on patient care. Being aware of patient interest and expectations is particularly important in areas with controversial or emerging research.