JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Physical therapy has demonstrated efficacy in managing non-specific low back pain (NLBP) among patients. Nevertheless, the prevalence of NLBP poses a challenge, as the existing medical infrastructure may be insufficient to care for the large patient population, particularly in geographically remote regions. Telerehabilitation emerges as a promising method to address this concern by offering a method to deliver superior medical care to a greater number of NLBP patients.

Objective:

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a telerehabilitation program in patients with NLBP.

Methods:

Following the inclusion and exclusion criteria, individuals with NLBP for a duration exceeding 3 months were enrolled in this study. Subsequently, a random allocation process assigned participants to either the telerehabilitation-based exercise group (TBEG) or the Outpatient-based exercise group (OBEG). All subjects engaged in a 30-minute regimen of strength and stretching exercises every two days for 8 weeks. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) served as the primary outcome measure, assessing physical disability. Secondary outcomes include pain intensity, fear-avoidance tendencies, and quality of life, as shown by the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Fear-Avoidance Belief Questionnaire (FABQ), and 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), respectively.

Results:

54 out of 128 eligible patients were enrolled and randomly assigned in the study. The findings indicate that the improvement observed in ODI scores within the TBEG group was comparable to that in the OBEG group at 2 weeks (mean difference -0.91, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] -5.96 to 4.14, P=0.718), 4 weeks (mean difference -3.80, 95% CI -9.86 to -2.25, P=0.213), and 8 weeks (mean difference -3.24, 95% CI -8.65 to 2.17, P=0.235). No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups at the 8-week mark regarding the FABQ (mean difference 8.88, 95% CI -2.29 to 20.06, P=0.116), NPRS (mean difference -0.39, 95% CI -2.10 to 1.31, P=0.642), and SF-36 scores (P >0.05).

Conclusions:

Telerehabitation interventions demonstrate comparable therapeutic efficacy for individuals with NLBP when compared to conventional outpatient-based physical therapy, yielding comparable outcomes in pain reduction and improvement in functional limitations. Clinical Trial: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2300068984 ; (https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=189852)