Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hand and Arm Dysfunction: A Google Trends Analysis

TL;DR

This study used Google Trends to find that interest in hand and arm injuries increased during the pandemic, likely due to more telework and device use.

Contribution

The study is the first to use Google Trends to analyze pandemic-related increases in hand and arm dysfunction queries.

Findings

Interest in 'hand pain', 'carpal tunnel syndrome', and 'trigger finger' increased significantly in multiple countries during the pandemic.

India, the US, and the UK showed notable upward trends in search terms related to hand and arm overuse injuries.

The increase in searches is likely linked to lifestyle changes like telework and mobile device use during lockdowns.

Abstract

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted individuals to make a number of lifestyle alterations. Few studies have examined the development of any hand and/or arm dysfunctions that may have resulted. The purpose of this study was to identify hand and/or arm overuse injuries that may have occurred as a result of the stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A Google Trends analysis of the terms “hand pain,” “carpal tunnel syndrome,” “cubital tunnel syndrome,” “trigger finger,” “de Quervain tenosynovitis,” “elbow pain,” “tennis elbow,” “golfer’s elbow,” “thumb base arthritis,” and “extensor carpi ulnaris tenosynovitis” in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and India was performed from June 2019 to January 2023. The noted timeframe was divided into quarters of 47 weeks, with the first quarter (June 2, 2019, through April 19, 2020) serving as a pre-pandemic baseline. The analysis compared initial results noted in the first quarter to individual results from the second, third, and fourth quarters.

Results

The most notable findings were the upward trends of the terms “hand pain,” “carpal tunnel,” and “trigger finger.” Specifically, India showed a significant increase in the terms “hand pain” and “carpal tunnel syndrome” in the second, third, and fourth quarters. The United States additionally showed a significant upward trend in the terms “carpal tunnel syndrome” and “trigger finger” in the second, third, and fourth quarters. The United Kingdom also reported a significant upward trend in the term “trigger finger” in the second, third, and fourth quarters.

Conclusion

Numerous factors likely contributed to the increased interest in these terms, such as the increase in telework and associated mobile device usage due to lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Movements associated with performing these tasks may have led to an increased prevalence of hand pain, thus prompting increased queries of these terms through an online search engine.

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