title: The comparison of telerehabilitation and face-to-face rehabilitation after total knee arthroplasty: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: Introduction The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of telerehabilitation for patients after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) compared with face-to-face rehabilitation. Methods Medline, SCOPUS, Google Scholar, EMBASE, Springer, Science Direct, and Cochrane databases were searched electronically. Relevant journals and references of studies included were hand-searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding the efficacy of telerehabilitation on functional recovery in patients after TKA. Two reviewers independently performed data extraction and quality assessment. Data were analysed using RevMan 5.3 software and Stata 12.0 software. Results Four RCTs involving 442 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, compared with face-to-face rehabilitation, telerehabilitation could achieve comparable pain relief (mean difference = 0.52; 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.20 to 1.24; p = 0.16) and better Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index improvement (mean difference = 1.13; 95% CI = 0.23 to 2.02; p = 0.014). In addition, telerehabilitation treatment resulted in a significantly higher extension range ( p < 0.00001) and quadriceps strength ( p = 0.0002) than face-to-face rehabilitation. Discussion Telerehabilitation should be recommended for patients after TKA because of its comparable pain control and better improvement of functional recovery as compared to face-to-face rehabilitation.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Jiangshu, China.
authors.forename: Shuihua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Jiangshu, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Jiangshu, China.
authors.forename: Xiuming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Jiangshu, China.
authors.forename: Kaijin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Baohua
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D059408:Pain Management; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D020127:Recovery of Function; D000069350:Telerehabilitation / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Telerehabilitation; face-to-face rehabilitation; functional recovery; meta-analysis; total knee arthroplasty (TKA)