Videoconferencing proves feasible in addressing lower body rehab for stroke survivors, study shows

 'Feasible' GIVES ME NO CONFIDENCE AT ALL THAT YOU'LL GET ME TO 100% RECOVERY! Don't you dare use your tyranny of low expectations to justify anything less!

Videoconferencing proves feasible in addressing lower body rehab for stroke survivors, study shows

The good news is that more seniors are surviving stroke than ever before. The “bad” news is that senior living providers need to assist more residents than ever before with rehabilitation. (THE BAD NEWS IS YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET 100% RECOVERED BECAUSE NO ONE HAS BEEN WORKING ON THAT SOLUTION!)

The need to, at the very least, provide short-term solutions, or “help bridge the service delivery gap,” opens the door for telehealth rehabilitation options, new research shows.

The researchers looked at a telehealth tool, TRAIL, which included a four-week, self-management exercise program for seniors rehabbing from stroke. The program was meant to work their lower body, and proved “feasible” in improving users’ mobility and gait, according to the results.

At least 11% of seniors in residential care facilities have had at least one stroke, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention estimates. 

“Shortened length of inpatient stays and continued challenges in transitioning back to the community — including poor access to continued stroke rehabilitation services — have resulted in substantial unmet recovery needs,” study co-author Sarah Park said in a statement. “[Stroke survivors] can struggle to regain balance, stability and gait coordination for daily life activities and even proper ambulation.”

Importantly, the researchers did not seem to think that the telehealth option was a “preferred” option, but instead could serve as an important interim solution for seniors waiting to move into a skilled nursing facility. Rehabbing via videoconferencing also could be a critical tool in case of another emergency like the pandemic, during which in-person rehab options would be limited, the researchers noted. 

A number of tech solutions have emerged in recent months to meet the growing need for stroke recovery options. This includes smartphone apps to track movement and guide exercises with the help of artificial intelligence. Another device, an ankle-foot robotic wearable, could become available by next year.

In addition, one study from last year found that telehealth not only helps(NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Survivors want full recovery!) stroke patients with gait and lower body issues, but also cognition and vision impairment, McKnight’s reported.

The study on TRAIL was conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan, in Canada, and their findings were published last month in the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Journal.