Abstract

Objective: The objective of this trial was to investigate the effect of an in-home telerehabilitation program for proximal humerus fractures compared to outpatient clinic visits.

Materials and Methods: Patients with proximal humerus fractures were recruited by an orthopedic specialist during emergency room visits. Physiotherapy treatments were given over an 8-week period using a videoconferencing system (TELE) or through face-to-face visits at the outpatient clinic (USUAL). Disabilities, including shoulder range of motion (flexion, extension, internal rotation, external rotation, abduction), and shoulder and upper limb functions were measured in face-to-face evaluations before (T1), and immediately after (T2) the program. Participant satisfaction with the healthcare services received was also evaluated at T2. Statistical analysis used the results of 30 participants.

Results: All the clinical outcomes improved post-intervention in each of the TELE and USUAL groups. Also, patient satisfaction was equivalent for both groups, showing scores of over 80% for each satisfaction factor measured. No intergroup differences were revealed in this trial for each outcome measured (p > 0.1).

Conclusion: Therefore, in-home teletreatment seems to be a promising way to dispense rehabilitation services for this population, similar to the effectiveness of outpatient clinical visits.

Keywords: In-Home Teletreatment; Proximal Humerus Fracture; Range Of Motion; Satisfaction; Telerehabilitation

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Citation

Citation: Michel Tousignant., et al. “In-Home Telerehabilitation for Proximal Humerus Fractures Compared to Conventional Rehabilitation: A Randomized Trial". Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 4.2 (2020): 65-70.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Michel Tousignant., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.