Compliance with remotely monitored physical therapy is higher in the older age group and for treatment of the upper extremity

Background: Remotely monitored physical therapy (RMPT) has emerged as an efficacious and cost-effective alternative to in-office physical therapy. These platforms enable real-time progress tracking, adjustments to patient care plans, and provide feedback to motivate patients to improve their health...

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Main Authors: Kanwar Parhar, Yousef Shishani, Abigail Berns, Reuben Gobezie, Patrick Denard
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Hive - Musculoskeletal S.A. 2025-03-01
Series:The Hive
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Online Access:https://thehive-musculoskeletal.com/articles/67c98637b8d2b3556251d3c4/detail
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author Kanwar Parhar
Yousef Shishani
Abigail Berns
Reuben Gobezie
Patrick Denard
author_facet Kanwar Parhar
Yousef Shishani
Abigail Berns
Reuben Gobezie
Patrick Denard
author_sort Kanwar Parhar
collection DOAJ
description Background: Remotely monitored physical therapy (RMPT) has emerged as an efficacious and cost-effective alternative to in-office physical therapy. These platforms enable real-time progress tracking, adjustments to patient care plans, and provide feedback to motivate patients to improve their health status. However, little data is available with regards to compliance which may vary based on age given the technology required for use. Purpose: To evaluate compliance with RMPT in different age groups across different body regions. Our hypothesis was that elderly patients would demonstrate similar compliance to younger patients with an RMPT program. Methods: A consecutive series of patients that underwent RMPT from Jan. 2022 to Jan. 2024 at 8 institutions were selected for the study. Compliance was stratified as low (<33% completion of exercises), moderate (33-66% completion of exercises), or high (>66% completion of exercises). Data collected included demographic data, body region (upper extremity, lower extremity, or spine), compliance and duration of RMPT. Results: A total of 2019 patients with an average age of 61.7 ± 12.9 years and rehabilitation duration of 23.7 ± 5.8 weeks were included in this analysis. Among these, 1735 (85.9%) underwent RMPT for the upper extremity, 244 (12.1%) lower extremity condition, and 40 (2%) for a spine condition. Compliance increased with advancing age (p < 0.001). High compliance was seen in 23.7% of the upper extremity cohort, compared to 15.6% in the lower extremity cohort and 7.5% in the spine cohort (p = 0.002). Overall, compliance rates were moderate or high in 66% of patients. Conclusion: Despite requiring familiarity with technology, older patients demonstrate improved compliance with RMPT compared to younger patients. Compliance also appears to vary by body region with the highest compliance seen for the upper extremity and lowest compliance seen for the spine.
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spelling doaj-art-d8ab995116f1439ca3e655bf2ef295042025-08-20T03:36:14ZengThe Hive - Musculoskeletal S.A.The Hive3042-57272025-03-0111https://doi.org/10.70885/hmsj.2025.03.001Compliance with remotely monitored physical therapy is higher in the older age group and for treatment of the upper extremityKanwar ParharYousef ShishaniAbigail BernsReuben GobeziePatrick DenardBackground: Remotely monitored physical therapy (RMPT) has emerged as an efficacious and cost-effective alternative to in-office physical therapy. These platforms enable real-time progress tracking, adjustments to patient care plans, and provide feedback to motivate patients to improve their health status. However, little data is available with regards to compliance which may vary based on age given the technology required for use. Purpose: To evaluate compliance with RMPT in different age groups across different body regions. Our hypothesis was that elderly patients would demonstrate similar compliance to younger patients with an RMPT program. Methods: A consecutive series of patients that underwent RMPT from Jan. 2022 to Jan. 2024 at 8 institutions were selected for the study. Compliance was stratified as low (<33% completion of exercises), moderate (33-66% completion of exercises), or high (>66% completion of exercises). Data collected included demographic data, body region (upper extremity, lower extremity, or spine), compliance and duration of RMPT. Results: A total of 2019 patients with an average age of 61.7 ± 12.9 years and rehabilitation duration of 23.7 ± 5.8 weeks were included in this analysis. Among these, 1735 (85.9%) underwent RMPT for the upper extremity, 244 (12.1%) lower extremity condition, and 40 (2%) for a spine condition. Compliance increased with advancing age (p < 0.001). High compliance was seen in 23.7% of the upper extremity cohort, compared to 15.6% in the lower extremity cohort and 7.5% in the spine cohort (p = 0.002). Overall, compliance rates were moderate or high in 66% of patients. Conclusion: Despite requiring familiarity with technology, older patients demonstrate improved compliance with RMPT compared to younger patients. Compliance also appears to vary by body region with the highest compliance seen for the upper extremity and lowest compliance seen for the spine.https://thehive-musculoskeletal.com/articles/67c98637b8d2b3556251d3c4/detailremotely monitored physical therapyphysical rehabilitationgamificationcomplianceolder adults
spellingShingle Kanwar Parhar
Yousef Shishani
Abigail Berns
Reuben Gobezie
Patrick Denard
Compliance with remotely monitored physical therapy is higher in the older age group and for treatment of the upper extremity
The Hive
remotely monitored physical therapy
physical rehabilitation
gamification
compliance
older adults
title Compliance with remotely monitored physical therapy is higher in the older age group and for treatment of the upper extremity
title_full Compliance with remotely monitored physical therapy is higher in the older age group and for treatment of the upper extremity
title_fullStr Compliance with remotely monitored physical therapy is higher in the older age group and for treatment of the upper extremity
title_full_unstemmed Compliance with remotely monitored physical therapy is higher in the older age group and for treatment of the upper extremity
title_short Compliance with remotely monitored physical therapy is higher in the older age group and for treatment of the upper extremity
title_sort compliance with remotely monitored physical therapy is higher in the older age group and for treatment of the upper extremity
topic remotely monitored physical therapy
physical rehabilitation
gamification
compliance
older adults
url https://thehive-musculoskeletal.com/articles/67c98637b8d2b3556251d3c4/detail
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