Musculoskeletal conditions are responsible for more costs to the United States healthcare system and cause more disability than any other group of conditions. Approximately 25% of adults experience knee pain, making it one of the most common physical ailments seen in medicine. Recent evidence from the Archives of Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Translation, has shown that relatively few individuals who qualify for Physical Therapy (PT) for their knee condition actually receive it. Physical Therapy has been the standard of care for nonoperative musculoskeletal conditions, and the focus of this study was on knee pain.
Unfortunately, conservative treatments for knee pain are often underused. This can be especially problematic for people with limitations to health care access because of living far away from medical care, lack of transportation, lack of insurance, high out-of-pocket costs for conservative treatments. These issues are particularly important for people with lower incomes, which has been associated with higher prevalence of knee pain and worse health-related quality of life.
The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine recently conducted a study on the efficacy of digital health applications, such as video physical therapy, to help address these challenges to physical therapy access and adherence. Programs that promote self-management and self-efficacy can provide longer-term improvement in outcomes of musculoskeletal patients treated with PT. It is possible for an interactive, mobile based application could help individuals manage their conditions from home and improve pain and functional outcomes.
For this study, a digital exercise therapy application (DETA) was developed, designed by physiatrists and physical therapists and built on evidence that suggests a stepped and progressive exercise therapy program personalized to the user and coupled with education and self management can better identify individuals who would benefit from a particular intervention to improve outcomes. The effectiveness of an 8-weeks of video based physical therapy was compared to conventional physical therapy. In this sample, video physical therapy resulted in greater increases in physical function and decreased pain compared to regular physical therapy.
Home exercise therapy programs provide an opportunity to overcome the many obstacles that exist, and to provide optimal therapy. This study demonstrates that video physical therapy is not only a viable and effective option for patients, but can yield greater success! Functional improvements were greater than pain improvements in this study, which mirrored prior randomized trials.
As a physician of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, the need for home based rehab exercise instruction has been clear to me and is the reason why I created these progressive rehab exercise videos for individuals to do at home. Level by level, step by step, these videos guide your progression through rehabilitation exercises and are available anytime. I’ve spent years creating complete rehab series for the treatment of back pain, shoulder, and elbow pain. There are also videos to help you overcome knee pain, ankle pain, and improve posture & balance. There’s never been a better time to participate in video guided home rehab exercises. Be sure to stay up to date on the rehab exercise videos created and demonstrated by Physiatrist, Dr Jed Robinson, and subscribe today to DrJed.com!
Source
Prospective, Single-blind, Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Digital Exercise Therapy Application Compared with Conventional Physical Therapy for the Treatment of Nonoperative Knee Conditions
Archives of Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Translation 2021;3:100151
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine