Effect of tele-rehabilitation on health outcomes in overweight and obese elderly women with locomotor disabilities from knee osteoarthritis: A randomised controlled trial.

Small single-centre trial: 56 women, all of whom could walk without an aid and use a phone or tablet, so it says nothing about more disabled patients or those without internet access. Participants knew which group they were in, and pain, sleep quality and quality of life were self-reported, so expecting to do well could have inflated the differences. The physiotherapist delivering the treatment was not blinded to group. The pain scores fell far more than exercise would normally achieve, and the authors themselves suggest that repeating the tests may have made the scores look better. Follow-up stopped at 6 months, so there is no evidence about whether the gains last. The trial was registered in May 2024, after recruitment had already finished in November 2023. The authors' own limitations list states the study had no control group, which does not match the trial they actually ran.

The work was funded by Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University (project PSAU-2023/SDG/26). The authors declare no competing interests. The paper gives no statement about whether the funder had any role in designing the trial, analysing the data or writing it up.

Do not read these results as proof that tele-rehabilitation itself produced the improvement. Both groups did exactly the same exercises; the only differences were that the tele-rehabilitation group was supervised by a physiotherapist, had their programme progressed, and received reminders through an app. A patient who knows they are being watched and coached may report less pain and better sleep without the joint changing.