A randomized controlled trial of home telerehabilitation for post-knee arthroplasty

Abstract

We compared the effectiveness of home telerehabilitation with conventional rehabilitation following knee replacement surgery (total knee arthroplasty, TKA). Forty-eight patients (mean age 66 years) who received TKA were recruited prior to discharge from hospital after surgery and were randomly assigned to telerehabilitation or usual care. Telerehabilitation sessions (16 per participant over two months) were conducted by trained physiotherapists using videoconferencing to the patient's home via an Internet connection (512 kbit/s upload speed). Disability and function were measured using standardized outcome measures in face-to-face evaluations at three times (prior to and at the end of treatment, and four months after the end of treatment). Clinical outcomes improved significantly for all subjects in both groups between endpoints. Some variables showed larger improvements in the usual care group two months post-discharge from therapy than in the telerehabilitation group. Home telerehabilitation is at least as effective as usual care, and has the potential to increase access to therapy in areas with high speed Internet services.