TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of home-based virtual reality telerehabilitation system in people with multiple sclerosis: A randomized controlled trial
AU - Pagliari, Chiara
AU - Di Tella, Sonia
AU - Jonsdottir, Johanna
AU - Mendozzi, Laura
AU - Rovaris, Marco
AU - De Icco, Roberto
AU - Milanesi, Tommaso
AU - Federico, Sara
AU - Agostini, Michela
AU - Goffredo, Michela
AU - Pellicciari, Leonardo
AU - Franceschini, Marco
AU - Cimino, Vincenzo
AU - Bramanti, Placido
AU - Baglio, Francesca
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Corrente and Rete IRCCS Delle Neuroscienze e Della Neuroriabilitazione – Teleneuroriabilitazione).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Background and objective: Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system that can lead to severe motor disability. The aim of this study was to verify the health care effects of an integrated telerehabilitation approach involving dual-domains (motor and cognitive) in people with multiple sclerosis using a virtual reality rehabilitation system compared to a home-based conventional rehabilitative intervention usual care for patient-relevant outcomes (motor, cognitive and participation). Methods: This multicentre interventional, randomized controlled trial included 70 participants with multiple sclerosis, 35 in the telerehabilitation group (30 sessions of home-based virtual reality rehabilitation system training, five sessions for week each lasting 45 min) and 35 in the usual care group (30 sessions of conventional treatment, five sessions for week). Participants completed the assessment of motor, cognitive and participation outcomes at baseline and after 6 weeks of treatment. Results: In total, 63.3% of the telerehabilitation group exhibited improvement in the physical domain of the quality of life (p = 0.045). The telerehabilitation group showed greater improvement than the usual care group in Mini-BESTest domains of balance (p = 0.014), postural control (p = 0.024), and dynamic walking (p = 0.020) at post-treatment. Higher adherence was registered for telerehabilitation compared with usual care (86.67% vs. 80.0%). Discussion: This study provides evidence that people with multiple sclerosis can benefit from telerehabilitation treatment in the physical domain of the quality of life and motor symptoms. Moreover, considering the persistent COVID-19 emergency, telerehabilitation can represent an effective telemedicine solution for safely delivering effective rehabilitation care to people with multiple sclerosis. Trial registration number and trial register: This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03444454).
AB - Background and objective: Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system that can lead to severe motor disability. The aim of this study was to verify the health care effects of an integrated telerehabilitation approach involving dual-domains (motor and cognitive) in people with multiple sclerosis using a virtual reality rehabilitation system compared to a home-based conventional rehabilitative intervention usual care for patient-relevant outcomes (motor, cognitive and participation). Methods: This multicentre interventional, randomized controlled trial included 70 participants with multiple sclerosis, 35 in the telerehabilitation group (30 sessions of home-based virtual reality rehabilitation system training, five sessions for week each lasting 45 min) and 35 in the usual care group (30 sessions of conventional treatment, five sessions for week). Participants completed the assessment of motor, cognitive and participation outcomes at baseline and after 6 weeks of treatment. Results: In total, 63.3% of the telerehabilitation group exhibited improvement in the physical domain of the quality of life (p = 0.045). The telerehabilitation group showed greater improvement than the usual care group in Mini-BESTest domains of balance (p = 0.014), postural control (p = 0.024), and dynamic walking (p = 0.020) at post-treatment. Higher adherence was registered for telerehabilitation compared with usual care (86.67% vs. 80.0%). Discussion: This study provides evidence that people with multiple sclerosis can benefit from telerehabilitation treatment in the physical domain of the quality of life and motor symptoms. Moreover, considering the persistent COVID-19 emergency, telerehabilitation can represent an effective telemedicine solution for safely delivering effective rehabilitation care to people with multiple sclerosis. Trial registration number and trial register: This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03444454).
KW - Multiple sclerosis
KW - neurorehabilitation
KW - telemedicine
KW - telerehabilitation
KW - virtual reality
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U2 - 10.1177/1357633X211054839
DO - 10.1177/1357633X211054839
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85120579053
SN - 1357-633X
JO - Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare
JF - Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare
ER -