Effects of telerehabilitation on physical function and activities of daily living in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a scoping review.

Only six articles were selected, and the evidence was four case-series studies and one case-control study, all level 4; no randomized trials were included. All five articles excluded patients with cognitive impairment, and four studies included patients without respiratory assistance, so results may not apply to more advanced ALS. Only English and Japanese articles were included, so relevant studies in other languages may be missing. Adherence was often self-reported by patients or family members and may overstate true adherence. Telerehabilitation methods and interventions varied widely, including aerobic exercise, stretching, comprehensive physical therapy, expiratory muscle training, inspiratory muscle training, synchronous video, remote monitoring, and on-demand video, making direct comparison difficult. Safety was unclear: only Braga reported adverse event monitoring, and three reports did not describe adverse events.

The authors received no funding, grants, or equipment for this research from any source and declared no conflicts of interest.

Do not conclude telerehabilitation improves ALS physical function or ADL overall. The review found improvements only in two respiratory muscle training studies; aerobic, stretching, and comprehensive physical therapy did not show significant improvement, and the included studies were low-level case-series or case-control designs with no randomized trials.