Telehealth works well for physical therapy
Post-pandemic, we often think of video calls as a weak substitute for face-to-face interactions. However, with physical therapy, being remote is not a problem. Studies confirm that telehealth is usually as effective as in-person physical therapy.
One of my patients is actually a group of patients in an organization. It’s based in California. There, from my office in Summerfield, NC, I provide physical therapy to scores of individual patients via video chat.
I find that visits and outcomes go very well with telehealth. Since I practice the McKenzie Method of physical therapy, which emphasizes patient empowerment and self-treatment, consultations lend themselves to remote work via video. With McKinsey, it’s not a matter of me doing a manipulation, or special massage or needling technique. It’s what YOU can do to help this out
To handle virtual visits, my exam room is arranged with an extra monitor of good size and a webcam that faces out over my room, so I can demonstrate as well as observe your movements.
Based on my experiences with it, I fully endorse telehealth, as do many others. The St. Augustine University for Health Sciences recently wrote:
“Treatment outcomes for virtual physical therapy appear to be on par with the outcomes for face-to-face physical therapy sessions.
- A study published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery showed that telerehabilitation was similarly effective as traditional care for patients recovering from total knee arthroplasty.5
- The Musculoskeletal Journal of Hospital for Special Surgery discovered that, during COVID-19, patient satisfaction with virtual physical therapy was comparable to in-person services.6 The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) advocates for telehealth as an effective and viable method for delivering patient care.7”
It’s not difficult to see a patient demonstrate a movement problem, and, likewise, it’s easy for them to see and emulate my suggestions for therapeutic exercises that will improve the condition.
Therefore, clinically, there’s not much difference in the success of physical therapy over video calls.
During the pandemic, when many clinics were shutting down and first switching over to telehealth, I had a patient who had been seen in person by a different physical therapist. She had neck pain and wasn’t getting better. We did a few telehealth visits, and she got better. Her feedback to me was that for her, telehealth was more effective than in-person.
And working remotely has other advantages, even if you live nearby.
Telehealth distills the patient’s time commitment to solely their time spent with me. There’s no drive time or waiting room time. Since showing up for telehealth appointments is a matter of turning on a computer, we can get right down to solving a problem. Patients sometimes feel more comfortable in their own familiar environments. That can be a big help in making the consultation stick.
Also, patients can keep their appointments when they are out of town. If a patient is on vacation at the Outer Banks and they have an internet connection, we can easily do the consultation. The only technical restriction with telehealth is that the patient has to be located in a state where I am licensed (North Carolina and California).
Cedar Hill Physical Therapy always offers a telehealth option. Any patient is welcome to try it out, even if you’re close by. You might want to give it a try. It’s perfectly fine to alternate, too.