Telerehabilitation to Address the Rehabilitation Gap in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Care: Survey of Physical Therapists/Care Providers

Background: While the importance of structured rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), particularly in the return-to-sport phase, is known, for most patients, supervised physical therapy is often completed before this time point. The recent emergence of telerehabil...

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Main Authors: Elizabeth C. Gardner, Corey Podbielski, Emma Dunphy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mary Ann Liebert 2024-04-01
Series:Telemedicine Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/tmr.2023.0022
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author Elizabeth C. Gardner
Corey Podbielski
Emma Dunphy
author_facet Elizabeth C. Gardner
Corey Podbielski
Emma Dunphy
author_sort Elizabeth C. Gardner
collection DOAJ
description Background: While the importance of structured rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), particularly in the return-to-sport phase, is known, for most patients, supervised physical therapy is often completed before this time point. The recent emergence of telerehabilitation and other digital health interventions has the potential to address this “rehabilitation gap.” Methods: The study was conducted as a cross-section, online survey collecting qualitative and quantitative data from open and closed questions. Inclusion criteria included local qualified physical therapists or other professionals working with ACLR patients. Results: Eighty-three percent of respondents experienced a “rehabilitation gap” with their ACLR patients. Few reported currently utilizing apps or websites (9.74%). The majority (41/58) reported experience with telerehabilitation, and 84% felt that there was a role for digital rehabilitation strategies to address the “rehabilitation gap.” The vast majority (94.74%) of participants felt that standard commercial insurance did not permit sufficient rehabilitation. Discussion: While the majority of our respondents acknowledged the existence of a “rehabilitation gap,” as well as familiarity with and confidence in telerehabilitation, few were using this technique at the time of our survey. This suggests an opportunity for development in this space.
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spelling doaj-art-962577c8fe3041209e20f00d40b19c272025-08-20T03:49:42ZengMary Ann LiebertTelemedicine Reports2692-43662024-04-0151183510.1089/tmr.2023.0022Telerehabilitation to Address the Rehabilitation Gap in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Care: Survey of Physical Therapists/Care ProvidersElizabeth C. Gardner0Corey Podbielski1Emma Dunphy2Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.Outpatient Physical Therapy, Gaylord Speciality Healthcare, Wallingford, Connecticut, USA.Research Department of Primary Care and Populational Health, Upper Third Floor, UCL Medical School (Royal Free Campus), London, United Kingdom.Background: While the importance of structured rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), particularly in the return-to-sport phase, is known, for most patients, supervised physical therapy is often completed before this time point. The recent emergence of telerehabilitation and other digital health interventions has the potential to address this “rehabilitation gap.” Methods: The study was conducted as a cross-section, online survey collecting qualitative and quantitative data from open and closed questions. Inclusion criteria included local qualified physical therapists or other professionals working with ACLR patients. Results: Eighty-three percent of respondents experienced a “rehabilitation gap” with their ACLR patients. Few reported currently utilizing apps or websites (9.74%). The majority (41/58) reported experience with telerehabilitation, and 84% felt that there was a role for digital rehabilitation strategies to address the “rehabilitation gap.” The vast majority (94.74%) of participants felt that standard commercial insurance did not permit sufficient rehabilitation. Discussion: While the majority of our respondents acknowledged the existence of a “rehabilitation gap,” as well as familiarity with and confidence in telerehabilitation, few were using this technique at the time of our survey. This suggests an opportunity for development in this space.https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/tmr.2023.0022ACLdigital health interventionsphysical therapyrehabilitationtelerehabilitation
spellingShingle Elizabeth C. Gardner
Corey Podbielski
Emma Dunphy
Telerehabilitation to Address the Rehabilitation Gap in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Care: Survey of Physical Therapists/Care Providers
Telemedicine Reports
ACL
digital health interventions
physical therapy
rehabilitation
telerehabilitation
title Telerehabilitation to Address the Rehabilitation Gap in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Care: Survey of Physical Therapists/Care Providers
title_full Telerehabilitation to Address the Rehabilitation Gap in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Care: Survey of Physical Therapists/Care Providers
title_fullStr Telerehabilitation to Address the Rehabilitation Gap in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Care: Survey of Physical Therapists/Care Providers
title_full_unstemmed Telerehabilitation to Address the Rehabilitation Gap in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Care: Survey of Physical Therapists/Care Providers
title_short Telerehabilitation to Address the Rehabilitation Gap in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Care: Survey of Physical Therapists/Care Providers
title_sort telerehabilitation to address the rehabilitation gap in anterior cruciate ligament care survey of physical therapists care providers
topic ACL
digital health interventions
physical therapy
rehabilitation
telerehabilitation
url https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/tmr.2023.0022
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