What is all this talk about Telerehabilitation?
“Expect to get the same quality care that you would get during an in-person visit. ”
Brooke Padlewski BSc. MScPT. Physical Therapist (Intern), Pursuit of Motion Physiotherapy
So, you’ve been working with your physiotherapist for a few weeks now and finally feel like you are on the brink of kicking this knee pain to the curb. Suddenly, pandemic strikes. Physiotherapy clinics close all around you and you find yourself stuck at home. You’re feeling defeated that you can’t continue to see your physiotherapist for treatment. Sound familiar? Rest assured, there’s a solution to keep working towards making your knee pain a thing of the past! We’ve all been spending some extra time online; scrolling through the news, binge watching Netflix or trying to get famous on Tik Tok (which, believe me, is harder than it seems). While scrolling online, you may have come across some discussion about telerehabilitation and wonder if this could be applicable to you. Unlike social distancing, telerehabiliation is not a new concept. Individuals with impaired mobility, living in rural communities and people with limited access to rehab services have been using telerehabilitation for a few years now. They have had great success managing their injuries through this platform and so can you. Now, you might be wondering how a physiotherapist could treat your knee pain through a computer video chat, so we turned to the research to help explain this better. A systematic review by Cottrell et. al, in 2017 defined telerehabiliation as “the provision of rehabilitation service at a distance using telecommunications technology as a delivery medium”. This is just a fancy way of saying, delivering physio sessions by telephone or video chat. The study was done to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment for musculoskeletal conditions via telerehabiliation compared to conventional physiotherapy (aka regular physiotherapy delivered in the clinic).
Now, to get to the good stuff, the results!
Telerehab works! Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, they found that telerehabiliation was effective in improving physical function, disability and pain compared to face to face physio (Cottrell et. al, in 2017). Shockingly, their results suggested that telerehab may be superior to conventional care with respects to physical function and disability. The systematic review discloses that most of the findings were for patients post knee replacement but these results highlight telerehabiliation is a viable option in the management of musculoskeletal conditions (Cottrell et. al, in 2017). There are physiotherapists that provide services to their patients solely through telerehab. They have noted that many patients find it beneficial as it allows for more one on one time with their physiotherapist. In addition, your physio gets to see you in your actual environment; whether it’s at home, your office at work or in the gym. Together you can work through the exact scenario that’s causing you pain or discomfort. The best part about telerehab is that you get to have an active role in managing your injury without relying on someone else. All of these factors are a win! So, with all of that said, do not let social distancing, a Canadian snowstorm, or a busy schedule stop you from working with your physiotherapist. Recovery from an injury can be done without even having to leave your house. It’s basically the new Skip the Dishes of Physiotherapy.
References
Cottrell, M. A., Galea, O. A., O’Leary, S. P., Hill, A. J., & Russell, T. G. (2016). Real-time telerehabilitation for the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions is effective and comparable to standard practice: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Rehabilitation, 31(5), 625–638. doi: 10.1177/0269215516645148