Effectiveness of telerehabilitation in musculoskeletal conditions: A review

Increasing demand for healthcare services related to musculoskeletal conditions, few physical therapists, and healthcare disparity in rural and remote areas necessitates a paradigm shift in healthcare delivery. A few studies encourage the adoption of telerehabilitation which proved a preferred alternative during COVID-19 pandemic. Despite that, there are questions about telerehabilitation efficacy as a physical therapy intervention in musculoskeletal conditions, and thus, this narrative article sought to review the current available literature on telerehabilitation's efficacy in managing musculoskeletal conditions. Telerehabilitation improved quality of life, pain management, decreased painkillers' intake and surgery intent, and enhanced functions in patients with musculoskeletal conditions. Telerehabilitation also was comparable to standard care in the assessment of knee issues; however, it took longer, and patients had problems self -palpating. Evidence also reveals telerehabilitation show significant differences between usual care in the management of patients who had undergone total hip replacement. Telerehabilitation resulted in improved physical function after total hip arthroplasty. Cost-wise, the intervention resulted in fewer resources in a population with lower-limb joint replacement; however, the effect was significant if the patients traveled more than 30 km to access a healthcare facility. Telerehabilitation decreased surgery intent, presenteeism, fear and avoidance, anxiety, and depression. Irrespective, the evidence on the efficacy of telerehabilitation is inconclusive because of low-quality evidence, lack of blinding and randomization, increasing bias, small sample sizes, and lack of homogenous samples making comparability difficult. Hence, it is essential to conduct further studies considering the shortcomings mentioned in this review.