Authors (including presenting author) :
Li KH(1), Chung KY(1), Tang PH(1), Wan S(1), Mak MY(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Physiotherapy Department, Tuen Mun Hospital, Hospital Authority
Introduction :
According to HA’s strategic plan on providing smart care with development of telehealth service, physiotherapy outpatient department has been promoting telehealth exercise class as an adjunct to conventional physiotherapy. Under structured telehealth generic service model, patients with low back pain were promoted to attend telehealth exercise class for training at home with supervision of physiotherapists in addition to the face-to-face sessions. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of telehealth exercise class in addition to conventional physiotherapy for promoting recovery on patients with low back pain.
Objectives :
- To investigate the effectiveness of telehealth exercise class in addition to conventional physiotherapy.
- To evaluate patient’s satisfaction towards telehealth service.
Methodology :
During August to December 2023, 68 patients (mean age 55.1) with low back pain were discharged from physiotherapy. 34 patients (mean age 52.1) attended telehealth exercise class in addition to conventional physiotherapy, were considered as intervention group. Another 34 patients (mean age 58.2) received conventional back physiotherapy only, were considered as control group. Primary outcomes were Numeric Global Rate of Change Scale (NGRCS), Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ). Secondary outcome was patient satisfaction scale towards telehealth exercise class.
Result & Outcome :
Results:
Average number of physiotherapy sessions attended for both groups were 9.5 sessions, in which intervention group attended an average 1.8 telehealth sessions in-between. Both intervention and control groups showed significant improvement in NGRCS (p< 0.01), NPRS (p< 0.01) and RMDQ (p< 0.01). However, there was no significant difference between intervention group and control group in terms of the NGRCS (p=0.883) and NPRS (p=0.267). 95% of the patients were satisfied with the telehealth exercise class.
Conclusion:
To conclude, both telehealth exercise class combined with conventional physiotherapy and conventional physiotherapy alone were effective in improving pain level and physical function on patients with low back pain. Besides, it was found that combination of the telehealth exercise class with conventional physiotherapy was comparable to usual physiotherapy care alone in terms of the improvement in NGRCS and NPRS. Further promotion of telehealth exercise class could reduce the need of patients for hospital care and our service is no longer limited by the physical space and distance.
