Real-Time Telerehabilitation in Older Adults With Musculoskeletal Conditions: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Most of the 10 trials involved pre- or postoperative knee or hip replacement, so the results say little about arthritis, sarcopenia, or other musculoskeletal conditions in isolation. Only 4 of 10 trials were rated low risk of bias; 4 used a nonconcealment randomisation method, raising selection-bias concerns. The search was limited to English and Thai articles and excluded Embase and ScienceDirect, so relevant trials in other languages or on those databases were missed. Outcomes were restricted to physical performance and adherence; pain, activities of daily living, and quality of life were not captured. Heterogeneity across trials was high enough that a full meta-analysis was not possible; only specific outcomes with compatible data were pooled. Only 2 trials reported cost data, and 7 of 10 did not describe adverse events, limiting the safety and economic picture.

No conflicts of interest declared. No funding source is named in the text.

Do not read the pooled results as proof that video-based exercise is better than in-person physiotherapy. The authors frame their primary conclusion as noninferiority, meaning TR is equivalent to and not worse than face-to-face care, not that it outperforms it. In addition, most of the 10 included trials involved knee-replacement patients, so the finding does not extend to the full range of musculoskeletal conditions you may see.