Are you experiencing chronic knee pain and wondering if video physical therapy is as good as in-person physical therapy? This video will go over what telehrehabilitation is, and explain a new research study that examines how effective video physical therapy is compared to in-person physical therapy for improving knee pain and function.
Telerehabilitation refers to the delivery of rehabilitation services, like diagnoses, check-ups, and treatments through the use of digital technology.[1] Telerehabilitation is beneficial because it allows you to communicate with a healthcare provider and receive rehabilitative services without the time and financial burden of having to travel to a physical clinic.[1] While there are many different types of telerehabilitation, in this blog, when we refer to telerehabilitation, we are referring to video physical therapy where you and your healthcare provider can both see and hear one another in real time via a video call.[2]
While telerehabilitation holds promise and potential for increasing accessibility and transforming the healthcare system, you may be wondering, how effective it is compared to in-person physical therapy. A recent randomized controlled trial study titled: Telerehabilitation consultations with a physiotherapist for chronic knee pain versus in-person consultations in Australia: the PEAK non-inferiority randomised controlled trial,[3] published in the Lance on March 30th, 2024 explored this very question. What’s interesting is that only 45% of the people being treated in the study thought that video physical therapy could be effective.[3] Additionally, less than half of all allied healthcare workers (physical therapists, occupational therapists etc) think that video therapy is as effective as in-person therapy.[3] Despite the skepticism, the findings of the study demonstrated that video physical therapy produced similar results to in-person care for people with chronic knee pain in terms of improving pain and physical function after 3 months.[3] The results of this study challenges the commonly held belief by both physical therapists and patients that video physical therapy is not as effective as in-person physical therapy.
If you are experiencing chronic knee pain and wondering what physical therapy services are available to help you, know that video physical therapy or telerehbilitation is a safe, effective and convenient option. Another aspect discussed in this study was travel time and cost. On average a person who lived in a city traveled 28 minutes to see a physical therapist whereas people living outside of a major city traveled between 56 to 84 minutes per appointment.[3] The researchers calculated the average cost of travel, both in terms of distance and a person’s time, to total $218 per person.[3] As such, opting for video physical therapy is just as effective as in person therapy and can also save time and money since it does not require you to travel for your appointment.
If you are interested in exploring telerehabilitation, Curovate is a digital physical therapy platform that offers real-time 1-on-1 video physical therapy sessions with a physical therapist, as well as asynchronous, video-guided daily exercises to help with your recovery. Simply download the Curovate Physical Therapy App by clicking on the links below or visit our Virtual Physical Therapy page to book your real-time synchronous session with a physical therapist today!
Blogs related to video physical therapy and the Curovate app
- How to use Curovate, the physical therapy app, every day to recover after injury, surgery or for strengthening
- How to sign up in the new Curovate physical therapy app for knee surgery
- How to measure knee range of motion in the Curovate app
