Telerehabilitation in promoting home-based upper extremity exercises among stroke survivors: a pilot study

Objectives: Stroke is a major cause of disability in adults, necessitating consistent patient-therapist interactions and diligent adherence to home-based rehabilitation programs to achieve substantial functional recovery. This study assessed audio-based telerehabilitation's (TR) preliminary effect and feasibility in promoting home-based upper extremity exercises among stroke survivors. Methods: A 4-week parallel two-arm pilot study design was employed. Fourteen stroke survivors (seven each in the experimental and control groups) were recruited. Individuals in the control group received standard care consisting of visits to physiotherapy outpatient clinics, while the intervention group received standard care in addition to audio-based TR. The independent t-test and chi-square test were used to analyze differences in the clinical and sociodemographic data. The independent t-test was used to measure the treatment effect on the upper limb motor function (Fugl-Meyer upper extremity [FMA-UE] and Wolf motor function test [WMFT]), quality of life (QOL) (the World Health Organization (WHO) QOL brief, [WHOQOL-BREF]), and activities of daily living (Barthel index [BI]). Results: The overall Mean±SD age of the participants is 50±8.2 years. The FMA-UE and WMFT scores changed from 17.57 to 25.86 (P=0.02) and 28.14 to 43.71 (P=0.03). No significant improvements in physical health, psychological, and social relationships domains of WHOQOL-BREF were recorded after the intervention. However, the environmental domain showed significant improvement (P=0.001). Scores of BI did not change significantly (P=0.49). Discussion: The findings of this study provided preliminary evidence to support the feasibility and benefits of audio-based TR in promoting functional regain after the stroke. However, further studies with a robust design are needed to validate the reported effectiveness.