Despite Equivalent Clinical Outcomes, Patients Report Less Satisfaction With Telerehabilitation Versus Standard In-Office Rehabilitation After Arthroscopic Meniscectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PURPOSE

To evaluate functional outcomes and satisfaction in patients who underwent telerehabilitation (telerehab) compared with in-person rehabilitation after arthroscopic meniscectomy.

METHODS

A randomized-controlled trial was conducted including patients scheduled to undergo arthroscopic meniscectomy for meniscal injury by 1 of 5 fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeons between September 2020 and October 2021. Patients were randomized to receive telerehab, defined as exercises and stretches provided by trained physical therapists over a synchronous face-to-face video visit or in-person rehabilitation for their postoperative course. International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form (IKDC) score and satisfaction metrics were collected at baseline and 3 months postoperatively.

RESULTS

Analysis was conducted on 60 patients with 3-month follow-up outcomes. There were no significant differences in IKDC scores between groups at baseline ( = .211) and 3 months' postoperatively ( = .065). Patients were more likely to report being satisfied with their rehabilitation group 73% vs. 100% ( = .044) if there were in the in-person group. Satisfaction differed significantly between the 2 groups at the end of their rehabilitation course, and only 64% of those in the telerehab group would elect to undergo telerehab again for future indications. Furthermore, they believed that future rehabilitation would benefit from a hybrid model.

CONCLUSIONS

Telerehab showed no difference versus traditional in-person rehabilitation in terms of functional outcomes up to 3 months after arthroscopic meniscectomy. However, patients were less satisfied with telerehab.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

I, randomized controlled trial.