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Telehealth based interventions when used alone are not effective in decreasing pain and disability and improving QoL in LBP patients.
Telehealth has appeared as a potential option for the treatment of low back pain (LBP); but, its efficacy has not been established yet.
Recently, a group of researchers conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis to assess the change in pain, disability, function, and QoL in non-specific LBP after telehealth delivered interventions.
In this study, seven databases were searched from the earliest records to August 2015. A total of eleven randomized controlled trials were included (n=2,280) to study the efficacy of telehealth-based interventions, alone or in combination with other interventions for nonspecific LBP treatment. The trials which were clinically homogeneous were grouped in meta-analyses.
The results indicated that in chronic LBP, there were no significant effects seen in telehealth interventions at short-term follow-up or medium-term follow-up as compared with a control group. Similarly, no significant effect was recorded for disability. Results from three individual trials also indicated the superiority of telehealth to a control intervention for enhancing the quality of life. It was found that interventions combining telehealth and usual care were more effective and useful than usual care alone in people with recent onset of LBP symptoms.
The overall study found moderate -quality evidence recommending that the current telehealth interventions, solely, are not more efficient than minimal interventions for reducing pain and disability in chronic LBP. The application of modern telehealth media (e.g., apps) and telehealth as an addition to routine care have not been studied much.
The Spine Journal
The effectiveness of telehealth-based interventions in the management of non-specific low back pain: A systematic review with meta-analysis
Amabile Borges Dario et al.
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