Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of Virtual Rehabilitation for Middle and Older Aged Veterans With Mobility Limitations: A Pilot Study.

This was a single-arm pilot with no control group, so changes cannot be compared with what might have happened without treatment. 21 Veterans enrolled but only 14 were analysed because participants who dropped out were not exposed to treatment. This small number makes the results unstable. The sample was mostly white, male, well-educated Veterans from one VA site, so it may not apply to other regions or demographic groups. Outcomes were self-reported mobility, physical activity, and confidence measures, and some lacked defined clinically meaningful thresholds. The study used the VA Video Connect platform, so technology issues and feasibility may not mirror other telehealth systems. The study ran during restrictive COVID pandemic conditions, which may have affected recruitment, retention, and participants' stress. Those who dropped out were older than those who completed, so the analysed group may underrepresent older Veterans.

Do not read this as proof that virtual rehabilitation improves mobility or activity. It was a single-arm pilot with no control group, and the sessions combined stepping, power/strength training, flexibility, home exercises, and coaching, so the study cannot show that telehealth PT caused the changes.