Sjögren T.1, Hakala S.1, Rintala A.1,2, Immonen J.3, Karvanen J.3, Heinonen A.1
1University of Jyväskylä, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Jyväskylä, Finland, 2KU Leuven, Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Leuven, Belgium, 3University of Jyväskylä, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Jyväskylä, Finland
Background: The use of distance technology is increasingly common in rehabilitation and physiotherapy, but its impact has not been studied sufficiently.
Purpose: The aim of this systematic literature review was to determine the effectiveness of technology-based distance physical rehabilitation in physiotherapy (distance physiotherapy) on the functioning of rehabilitees.
Methods: A literature search was conducted on the Central, Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, Cinahl, PsycINFO, OT-Seeker, PEDro and WOS databases (20002014). The inclusion criteria (PICO) were: (P) age from 18 to 65 years; (I) physical rehabilitation or physiotherapy through distance technology to promote physical activity or functional ability; (C) similar or other treatment, without distance technology or no treatment; (O) weight, BMI, waistline, maximal oxygen uptake, mobility, physical activity, work ability, quality of life and self-efficacy. Quality evaluation was performed using the criteria of Furlan et al. (2009) and the classification of Anttila (2008). The statistical methods were meta-analysis and meta-regression. The level of evidence (A-D) was determined according to the Current Care Guidelines.
Results: The total number of examinations was 45, including 11,602 participants. The average age of the participants was 52 years, and 51 % of them were women. Physical rehabilitation or physiotherapy utilizing distance technology increased physical activity by 25 % in individuals with a diagnosed illness, compared with other treatment (conservative or minimal physical rehabilitation without distance technology) (B). In sub analysis the impact was observed especially among cardiac rehabilitation (B) and MS rehabilitation clients (C). In addition, distance physiotherapy increased weight loss (B) and experienced quality of life (C). No impact was observed when compared with similar rehabilitation without distance technology (B) or with participants without a diagnosed illness (B).
Conclusion(s): Results are tentative because the detectable clinical and statistical heterogeneity of the study. There is a need for further high-quality RCT research and systematic reviews for evaluating the effectiveness of technology-based physical rehabilitation in physiotherapy implemented through distance technology.
Implications: Technology-based distance physical rehabilitation in physiotherapy may be recommended as a part of a physiotherapy especially increasing physical activity among individuals with a diagnosed illness.
Funding acknowledgements: The study was supported by the Social Insurance Institute of Finland.
Topic: Health promotion & wellbeing/healthy ageing
Ethics approval: The ethics approval was not required because the study was systematic review.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
