Exercise videos for ankylosing spondylitis: An analysis of quality, reliability, content, and text mining

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the quality and reliability of exercise videos prepared for Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) on YouTube® and perform the content and text mining analysis. Methods: On March 18, 2025, a video search was conducted on YouTube® using the keywords "Ankylosing spondylitis rehabilitation", "Ankylosing spondylitis and exercise", "Ankylosing spondylitis physiotherapy", and "Axial spondylarthritis and exercise". A total of 240 videos were scanned, 61 met the inclusion criteria. To assess reliability and quality, the Modified Quality Criteria for Consumer Health Information (mDISCERN), Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), and Global Quality Scale (GQS) were utilized. Subtitles were examined using text mining methods, and sentiment analysis and content reviews were performed. Videos were categorized as being uploaded by health professionals or others and useful or misleading. Results: Videos uploaded by health professionals had higher mDISCERN (p=0.004) and GQS (p=0.036) scores than others. JAMA scores of groups were similar (p=0.051). Between groups the polarity score was not different (p=0.367); but the subjectivity score was higher in health professional group (p=0.049). Videos categorized useful had higher mDISCERN (p=0.003), JAMA (p=0.001) and GQS (p=0.041) scores than misleading ones. Moreover, the polarity (p=0.001) and subjectivity (p=0.001) scores were higher in useful group than misleading group. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that if videos are uploaded by health professionals and have proper content, they are more reliable and quality. Therefore, health professionals like physicians and physical therapists should be encouraged and supported to create and upload high-quality videos to ensure the reliability and quality of exercise in AS.