A new study was published recently in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy detailing the results of a very small study involving a single post-stroke subject for one week of telerehabilitation. You can find more information here.
One may argue that such a study is anecdotal at best, and that a broader study is required to substantiate its claims.
Fortunately, there’s a long history of much more convincing scientific studies involving at-home rehabilitation of people with stroke and other neurological injuries like SCI. Such studies have generally shown positive results, which is why the results of the above study are not too surprising. I’ve provided links to abstracts and quick summaries of a few highlights below:
Efficacy of telemedicine in occupational therapy: a pilot study (2001) – The authors conclude that select occupational therapy evaluation data can be accurately transmitted and properly scored using low-bandwidth telemedicine systems.
Web-based telerehabilitation for the upper extremity after stroke (2002) – A description of a telerehabilitation system for stroke rehabilitation.
An Evaluation Framework for a Rural Home-Based Telerehabilitation Network (2005) – A survey of 43 professionals agreed that there are unmet needs among elderly people who are discharged from hospital settings.
Development of a teletechnology protocol for in-home rehabilitation (2006) – The authors’ results showed promise that both the telerehabilitation technology and intervention procedures were feasible in an elderly population.
A telerehabilitation approach to delivery of constraint-induced movement therapy (2006) – The authors reported large improvements in hand and arm function of post-stroke subjects. The gains were the same under both direct and remote supervision of a therapist.
Telerehabilitation using the Rutgers Master II glove following carpal tunnel release surgery: proof-of-concept (2007) – Dramatic improvements were achieved using the Rutgers Masters II haptic glove. All patients would either very strongly, or strongly recommend similar at-home therapy to others.
Telerehabilitation Using a Virtual Environment Improves Upper Extremity Function in Patients With Stroke (2007) -Home-based rehabilitation of 11 stroke subjects resulted in improvements of hand and arm function that were maintained at the time of a four month post-intervention evaluation.
Telerehabilitation is an exciting new field that holds the promise of providing cost-effective, high quality care to people facing a wide range of medical issues. For information about our telerehabilitation services, visit our stroke and SCI home rehabilitation page.