You want to get back to doing what you love after an injury or illness. Maybe you heard about new ways to get physical therapy, like seeing a specialist online or through a different care model. It feels like progress, but does it actually make a real difference in your life?
We looked at 25 reviews involving adults with spinal pain, older adults, and stroke survivors living in the community. The studies compared these new delivery arrangements to usual care or in-person rehabilitation. Across measures like pain, quality of life, and independence in daily tasks, the results showed little to no difference.
Reports rarely mentioned safety signals, and most cases did not track serious side effects. The evidence comes mostly from high-income countries and holds mostly low certainty. This means we cannot be sure if these methods work differently in other settings or for everyone.
While the data does not show a clear advantage, it highlights a need for better research. We need high-quality studies to understand if these models truly help or if they just change how care is delivered without changing the outcome. Future work must include low- and middle-income countries to see if results hold in those places.