7 Questions and Answers about Telerehabilitation

Although no one doubts that one of the main objectives of the innovations linked to the digital health It is to offer more personalized and effective treatments to improve the quality of life of patients, there are many issues in the face of these advances.

With the Telerehabilitation It is not an exception: there is much ignorance about the progress that is being made in the field of digital rehabilitation. Below, we answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

 

What is the main difference with face-to-face rehabilitation?

The Telerehabilitation offers patients the possibility of Follow physiotherapy treatments remotely, without the need to travel to the medical center, and thanks to the use of a digital platform.

Although the most comfortable and usual thing is that patients carry out telerehabilitation sessions from home, most of the solutions allow their use from anywhere and at any time.

From the point of view of the physical therapist or rehabilitation doctor, telerehabilitation allows prescribing personalized therapeutic exercises to the state of each patient, monitoring the progress of the therapy and adapting rehabilitation treatment based on the needs of each moment.

 

What are the main benefits of telerehabilitation?

One of the main benefits is that it makes it easier for people with difficulties to move to follow their rehabilitation therapy remotely, in a complementary way to the physical therapy sessions or completely online.

This comfort and accessibility increases adherence to treatment, which is one of the main problems of face-to-face rehabilitation processes: 51.6% of patients are not adherent to their therapy (according to the National analysis of adherence to the treatment of chronic pathologies prepared by the OAT group).

As a consequence of this greater adherence, also Recovery time is reduced and Patient satisfaction increases, who feel like the protagonists of their recovery and are calm thanks to the supervision of the professional.

 

What equipment is necessary for telerehabilitation? 

Most telerehabilitation platforms are online services And the only thing patients need to follow their rehabilitation therapy is a device with screen (a Smartphone, a tablet or a computer) and Internet connection.

Additionally, in telerehabilitation platforms such as REHUB of DYCARE The use of advanced wearable sensors can be added. These add to the process greater control and precision, not only on the correct execution of the exercises, but also the monitoring with objective data and the personalization of the therapy, taking a step further in the standardization of treatments.

 

Is telerehabilitation recommended and safe for any age?  

Although the answer to this question will depend on the specific operation of each telerehabilitation platform and its usability, it is generally suitable for all types of audiences.

The objective of these platforms is that they are useful for the maximum type of people and rehabilitation therapies. Most are used to being designed for simple use, also suitable for older people and not very skilled with technology. In our case, the clinical studies rehapt and rehip have shown that our Telerehabilitation platform, REHUB, is safe and effective with people older than 80 years and with excellent results in terms of satisfaction and adherence to treatment.

In addition, beyond facilitating contact with the rehabilitative physiotherapist or doctor to solve doubts at any time, these digital solutions can add A virtual assistant that accompanies and guides the patient in performing the exercises.

 

What role does the rehabilitation doctor have in a telerehabilitation therapy? And the physical therapist? 

As in traditional rehabilitation treatments, the rehabilitation physician is the one who Establish the diagnosis and objectives of the therapeutic plan. The possibility of being able to consult at any time the patient’s condition allows him to intervene quickly in case of need.

Depending on the objectives, the physiotherapist establishes the treatment regimen, prescribes personalized exercises and is in charge of monitoring the patient remotely.

 

What pathologies can be treated with telerehabilitation? 

Its use is intended for patients with diagnoses of all kinds, although The most frequently treated pathologies are those of a musculoskeletal nature. (e.g. tendinitis, tenosynovitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, epicondylitis, etc.)

It also turns out Especially useful for recoveries after surgery, avoiding displacements and allowing patients to start rehabilitation as soon as possible to reduce pain and complications such as joint stiffness.

 

What is not telerehabilitation? 

Another way to understand what telerehabilitation is is to be clear about what it is not.  Thus, you have to run away from simple definitions of what telerehabilitation is that focus on aspects such as video tutorials, and You can’t talk about telerehabilitation with a simple video call.

In telerehabilitation the videos are just a part. Although the clinical results obviously can also be achieved with traditional face-to-face physical therapy, the contribution of technology is that you can measure these results with better precision because they give you qualitative and quantitative data, offering greater control of the entire rehabilitation process.

 

To resolve more doubts about telerehabilitation platforms, we invite you to read our page of Frequently Asked Questions. And if you are interested in seeing first-hand a solution like ours, do not hesitate to Request a free demo.