Telerehabilitation for Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis. A Randomized Controlled Trial

Digital health utilization in the form of telerehabilitation is a popular technology that is very little researched for musculoskeletal disorders particularly hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA). The progression of OA will lead to total hip or knee replacement surgery. As a consequence, the advancing aging population leads to an increased burden on the healthcare system due to rising osteoarthritis. That's why, we will conduct a randomized controlled trial to explore the effectiveness of telerehabilitation in hip and knee osteoarthritis. This study will recruit OA patients into control and experimental groups. The control group will receive a patient education while the experimental group will undergo remote exercise sessions. Both groups will receive one supervised session a week for 5 weeks. The pre- and post-outcome measures will be recorded for functional status of hip and knee, muscle strength, and range of motions of the lower extremity. This innovative study will evaluate the effectiveness of a telemedicine intervention applied to a clinical population in Taiwan. The use of telerehabilitation interventions aims to reduce treatment and transportation costs, as well as save time for patients with OA. This digital health approach also helps to alleviate the workload of physiotherapists and rehabilitation doctors in clinics. The findings from this study could broaden the scope for using remote digital technology to assist clinical patients in diverse settings, especially those with limited or no hospital access.