Increasing public interest in lumbar decompression and fusion surgery in the United States: higher search volumes in the Northeast region from 2015 to 2024

Q: How was public interest measured in the study?

The study used Google Trends data and the relative search volume (RSV) to quantify public interest in lumbar decompression and fusion surgery.

Q: What did the study find about trends from 2015 to 2024?

Public interest showed a statistically significant upward trend from 2015 to 2024 (p<0.05).

Q: Were there geographic differences in search volume?

Yes. The Northeast region had the highest mean RSV, followed by the West, Midwest, South, and Southwest, with significant differences among regions (p<0.001).

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Genevieve

Public interest in lumbar decompression and fusion surgery increased over the past decade in the United States, showing a consistent statistically significant upward trend. Using Google Trends data from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2024, relative search volume tracked temporal changes with linear regression, while seasonal and geographic differences were assessed via ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc tests. The highest monthly interest occurred in October and geographic interest peaked in the Northeast region.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Conclusion

Study Design

Purpose

Overview of Literature

Methods

Results

Keywords

Introduction

Clinical Study ASJ Asian Spine J. 2025;19(6): 949-956 [https://doi.org/10.31616/asj.2025.0133](https://doi.org/10.31616/asj.2025.0133)[ ](https://doi.org/10.31616/asj.2025.0133)PISSN 1976-1902 • eISSN 1976-7846 | Increasing public interest in lumbar decompression and fusion surgery in the United States: higher search volumes in the Northeast region from 2015 to 2024
Paul G. Mastrokostas1,2, Leonidas E. Mastrokostas1,2, Ahmed K. Emara3, Ian J. Wellington4, Elizabeth Ginalis5, John K. Houten6, Amrit S. Khalsa7, Ahmed Saleh2, Jad Bou Monsef1,2, Afshin E. Razi2, Mitchell K. Ng2
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, NY, USA
2Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA 3Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA 4Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT, USA 5Department of Neurosurgery, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA
6Department of Neurosurgery, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA 7Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA | | | --- | --- | | Increasing public interest in lumbar decompression and fusion surgery in the United States | | CONCLUSION Public interest in lumbar decompression and fusion surgery has shown a consistent and statistically significant upward trend over the past decade. Although seasonal variation was not significant, notable geographic differences in search volume were observed. Paul G. Mastrokostas et al. Asian Spine J. 2025;19(6): 949-956. [doi.org/10.31616/asj.2025.0133](doi.org/10.31616/asj.2025.0133) Received Mar 5, 2025; Revised Apr 11, 2025; Accepted Apr 28, 2025 Corresponding author: Paul G. Mastrokostas Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA Tel: +1-718-306-4771, Fax: +1-718-682-3847, E-mail: [Pmastrokostas06@gmail.com](Pmastrokostas06@gmail.com) Copyright Ⓒ 2025 by Korean Society of Spine Surgery This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License ([http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Asian Spine Journal • pISSN 1976-1902 eISSN 1976-7846 • [www.asianspinejournal.org](www.asianspinejournal.org) Increasing public interest in lumbar decompression and fusion surgery in the United States: higher search volumes in the Northeast region from 2015 to 2024 Paul G. Mastrokostas1,2, Leonidas E. Mastrokostas1,2, Ahmed K. Emara3, Ian J. Wellington4, Elizabeth Ginalis5, John K. Houten6, Amrit S. Khalsa7, Ahmed Saleh2, Jad Bou Monsef1,2, Afshin E. Razi2, Mitchell K. Ng2 Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Purpose: This study aimed to investigate temporal patterns, seasonal variations, and geographic differences in the US public interest in lumbar decompression and fusion surgery. Overview of Literature: The number of lumbar decompression and fusion surgery procedures for various surgical indications has significantly increased in the United States over the past few decades. As the prevalence of these procedures increases, patients are increasingly seeking online information on these procedures. Methods: This study analyzed US public interest in lumbar decompression and fusion surgery using Google Trends data from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2024. The relative search volume (RSV) was used to measure public interest. Temporal trends were assessed using linear regression analysis, whereas seasonal and geographic variations were evaluated using analysis of variance and Tukey’s post hoc tests. Statistical significance was set at p<0 .05. Results: Public interest in lumbar decompression and fusion surgery showed

FAQs

How was public interest measured in the study?

The study used Google Trends data and the relative search volume (RSV) to quantify public interest in lumbar decompression and fusion surgery.

What did the study find about trends from 2015 to 2024?

Public interest showed a statistically significant upward trend from 2015 to 2024 (p<0.05).

Were there geographic differences in search volume?

Yes. The Northeast region had the highest mean RSV, followed by the West, Midwest, South, and Southwest, with significant differences among regions (p<0.001).

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Genevieve