FACE-TO-FACE EXERCISES ARE NOT SUPERIOR TO TELE-REHABILITATION IN RECENT POST-OPERATIVE TOTAL HIP ARTHROPLASTY: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL.

Objective: compare a face-to-face exercise program (face-to-face group [FG]) to telerehabilitation (telerehabilitation group [TG]), in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Methodology: randomized clinical trial with 24 participants: 14 in the FG, which held weekly exercise sessions with face-to-face supervision in the clinic; and 10 in the TG, which performed exercises at home, with guidance from the booklet and weekly calls from the researchers. All participants underwent 6 weeks of intervention and were evaluated, by a blinded evaluator, in the pre- and post-intervention moments for: pain; kinesiophobia; functional; joint range of motion (ROM); and peak muscle torque (PT).

Results: post-intervention only the TG (p = 0.018; d = 1,744) showed improvement in the results of the TUG, however both TG (p = 0.043; d = 1,876) and FG (p = 0.002; d = 1,854) showed improvement in the HHS results.

Conclusion: telerehabilitation proved to be as effective as face-to-face rehabilitation in improving PT, ROM and functional capacity of patients in the initial stage of THA rehabilitation. It can be considered a low-cost and easy access alternative in this post-operative phase. Level of Evidence I, Randomized control trial.