Role of tele-physical therapy in quality of life and satisfaction among patients with musculoskeletal disorders

Abstract

Objectives: Previous research has shown telephysical therapy to be highly efficient, but it has shown vague results in terms of quality of life and satisfaction improvement in patients with musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Hence, this study aimed to find the role of telephysical therapy in improving the quality of life of patients with MSD. Methods: The study was conducted using a pre- and post-study design, enrolling 327 patients with MSDs who contacted Marham for online physical therapy consultations. Participants filled out telehealth usability and European quality of life-5 dimensions questionnaires (EQ-5D-5L) in the priory. After tele-sessions, they were again requested to fill out questionnaires along with complete questionnaires and ten open-ended questions about their telephysical therapy experience. Any participant with cognitive dysfunction or inability to complete prescribed tele-sessions was excluded from the study. Results: Participants had a mean age of 41.80 (±14.84) years. One hundred and fifty-three were male and 174 were female. Thirty-nine distinct MSDs were diagnosed, with low back pain being the most prevalent among the participants. The Marham’s therapists prescribed a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 12 tele-sessions. The paired sample t-test showed statistically significant differences between pre- and post-scores of telehealth usability and EQ-5D-5L (P < 0.001). According to multiple regression analysis, age, sex, and number of sessions were the most influencing variables, with a 35% variance in quality of life and 35.4% in satisfaction. Most participants, that is, 83% reported excellent experiences. Conclusion: The study concluded that telephysical therapy plays a positive role in improving the quality of life and satisfaction of MSD patients.