Howard C, McIntire R, Anderson JM, Stewart C, McIntosh H, Cornwell J, Barron K. The top sports medicine influencers on X (formerly Twitter).
J Sports Sci 2023:1-6. [PMID:
37722817 DOI:
10.1080/02640414.2023.2259723]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
With increasing sports medicine content on social media, we sought to identify the top sports medicine influencers on X (formerly Twitter) and analyse their common characteristics.
METHODS
X influence scores for "Sports Medicine" were collected in November 2021 from Right Relevance. Accounts were then screened in a blind, duplicate manner for personal and X profile characteristics.
RESULTS
Physical therapists/physiotherapists made up 48% of the top sports science and medicine influencers. Locations in the U.S. and U.K. were listed for half of the influencers. The mean h-index was 30.2 (95% CI = [24.8-35.6]) with a median of 22.0 (range = 1-101). Most individuals reported multiple practice settings (63%), with 60% associated with an academic setting. Professional (62%) and Olympic (49%) level athletics were most frequently mentioned, with soccer (48%) and rugby (30%) as the most common sports. Among 76 profiles with URLs, most were linked to personal websites (57.9%).
CONCLUSION
The top influencers on X consisted of accredited sports science and medicine professionals across various locations and occupations, providing ample networking and collaboration opportunities. The relatively high h-index in this study suggests sports science and medicine influencers on X are notable contributors to academic literature.
Collapse