App-Based Rehabilitation in Back Pain, a Systematic Review
Smartphones and their associated applications are used frequently by patients and clinicians alike. Despite the technology being widely accessible, their use to aid in rehabilitation is yet to be adopted. The SARS CoV-2 pandemic has presented an opportunity to expedite their integration given the di...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Personalized Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/12/10/1558 |
| _version_ | 1797472203002871808 |
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| author | Claire Stark John Cunningham Peter Turner Michael A. Johnson Henrik C. Bäcker |
| author_facet | Claire Stark John Cunningham Peter Turner Michael A. Johnson Henrik C. Bäcker |
| author_sort | Claire Stark |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Smartphones and their associated applications are used frequently by patients and clinicians alike. Despite the technology being widely accessible, their use to aid in rehabilitation is yet to be adopted. The SARS CoV-2 pandemic has presented an opportunity to expedite their integration given the difficulty patients currently have in accessing healthcare. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic literature review on the use of smartphone rehabilitation applications compared to standard physiotherapy for back pain. We conducted a search of Medline/Pubmed and google databases using the search terms [APP] AND [[Orthopaedic] OR [Neurosurgery]], following the PRISMA guidelines. All prospective studies investigating rehabilitation applications for back pain or following spine surgery were included. A total of nine studies met the inclusion criteria which investigated 7636 patients, of which 92.4% were allocated to the interventional group (<i>n</i> = 7055/7636) with a follow up of 4 weeks to 6 months. All except one study reported on patients experiencing back pain on average for 19.6 ± 11.6 months. The VAS-pain score was presented in all studies without significance between the interventional and control group (<i>p</i> = 0.399 before and <i>p</i> = 0.277 after intervention). Only one research group found significantly higher improvement in PROMs for the application group, whereas the remaining showed similar results compared to the control group. Using application-based rehabilitation programs provides an easily accessible alternative or substitute to traditional physiotherapy for patients with back pain. Given that smartphones are so prevalent in activities in our daily lives, this will enhance and improve rehabilitation if patients are self-dedicated and compliant. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:58:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3a91eea15cf64cc1890523d555e40df9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4426 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:58:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Personalized Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-3a91eea15cf64cc1890523d555e40df92023-11-24T00:48:26ZengMDPI AGJournal of Personalized Medicine2075-44262022-09-011210155810.3390/jpm12101558App-Based Rehabilitation in Back Pain, a Systematic ReviewClaire Stark0John Cunningham1Peter Turner2Michael A. Johnson3Henrik C. Bäcker4Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, 300 Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3050, AustraliaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, 300 Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3050, AustraliaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, 300 Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3050, AustraliaEpworth Richmond Hospital, 89 Bridge Road, Richmond, VIC 3021, AustraliaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, 300 Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3050, AustraliaSmartphones and their associated applications are used frequently by patients and clinicians alike. Despite the technology being widely accessible, their use to aid in rehabilitation is yet to be adopted. The SARS CoV-2 pandemic has presented an opportunity to expedite their integration given the difficulty patients currently have in accessing healthcare. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic literature review on the use of smartphone rehabilitation applications compared to standard physiotherapy for back pain. We conducted a search of Medline/Pubmed and google databases using the search terms [APP] AND [[Orthopaedic] OR [Neurosurgery]], following the PRISMA guidelines. All prospective studies investigating rehabilitation applications for back pain or following spine surgery were included. A total of nine studies met the inclusion criteria which investigated 7636 patients, of which 92.4% were allocated to the interventional group (<i>n</i> = 7055/7636) with a follow up of 4 weeks to 6 months. All except one study reported on patients experiencing back pain on average for 19.6 ± 11.6 months. The VAS-pain score was presented in all studies without significance between the interventional and control group (<i>p</i> = 0.399 before and <i>p</i> = 0.277 after intervention). Only one research group found significantly higher improvement in PROMs for the application group, whereas the remaining showed similar results compared to the control group. Using application-based rehabilitation programs provides an easily accessible alternative or substitute to traditional physiotherapy for patients with back pain. Given that smartphones are so prevalent in activities in our daily lives, this will enhance and improve rehabilitation if patients are self-dedicated and compliant.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/12/10/1558applicationsbackspinepainrehabilitation |
| spellingShingle | Claire Stark John Cunningham Peter Turner Michael A. Johnson Henrik C. Bäcker App-Based Rehabilitation in Back Pain, a Systematic Review Journal of Personalized Medicine applications back spine pain rehabilitation |
| title | App-Based Rehabilitation in Back Pain, a Systematic Review |
| title_full | App-Based Rehabilitation in Back Pain, a Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | App-Based Rehabilitation in Back Pain, a Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | App-Based Rehabilitation in Back Pain, a Systematic Review |
| title_short | App-Based Rehabilitation in Back Pain, a Systematic Review |
| title_sort | app based rehabilitation in back pain a systematic review |
| topic | applications back spine pain rehabilitation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/12/10/1558 |
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