Telerehabilitation: An Overview

Abstract

Rehabilitation is a major component of health sciences, and is the process of restoring an incapacitated individual to a normal life through training and therapy. Globally, 2.4 billion people may currently require rehabilitation. In 60 to 70% of countries, existing rehabilitation services have been disrupted due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Even after lockdowns and with vaccinations, some form of physical distancing is likely to be part of the new normal. Concurrently, there is an exponential growth of telehealth. This global overview will demonstrate that telerehabilitation (TR) is likely to be a distinct stand-alone sub-specialty of telehealth. Details of setting up TR, methods, and components are discussed, and clinical indications, limitations, advantages, disadvantages, challenges, and barriers to implementation and technological advances in TR are highlighted followed by an in-depth study of the literature from India.