A surge in queries: Analyzing the increased public interest in dry needling using Google trends – A cross-sectional observational study

To monitor public interest (PI) in information related to Dry needling (DN) therapy and examine potential temporal, seasonal, and income-related trends that may impact PI by using the relative search volume (RSV) from the Google Trends tool for the keyword "Dry Needling." For this cross-sectional observational study, a dataset was created using the Google Trends tool from 2004 to the present in the United States (US). To examine potential income-related disparities in PI in DN across the US, RSV values were recorded in the five states with the highest and the lowest median income (Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Utah, and Washington and Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas, New Mexico, Kentucky, respectively). A linear regression model showed that the PI in DN increased significantly (R2 = 0,902, p