Introduction
Integrating technology into home exercise programs is a rapidly evolving field that shows promising impacts in optimizing clinical outcomes and patient engagement. It offers numerous benefits, including improved adherence, enhanced patient engagement, and better clinical outcomes. The use of various digital tools like mobile apps, activity trackers, and telehealth platforms can provide personalized, adaptable, and interactive solutions that cater to individual patient needs.
This blog explores the impact of technological advancements on home-based exercise regimens, focusing on how these innovations can optimize therapeutic results and increase patient involvement. By examining current literature and studies, we will highlight the benefits and challenges of incorporating technology in home exercise programs and discuss future implications for healthcare providers and patients.
The Rise of Telerehabilitation in Home Exercise
A study by Rotundu et al. (2023) highlights the benefits of integrating technology into home exercise therapy, particularly for patients with lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD). The research, which involved a comprehensive literature review, found that home-based exercise therapy supervised with specific devices could significantly benefit patients.
This includes increasing exercise adherence, engagement, self-care capacity, life expectancy, and quality of life, as well as reducing symptoms, cardiovascular complications, and hospitalizations. Telerehabilitation is an innovation in the field of cardiac rehabilitation through which patients receive physical exercises according to PAD staging. Their progress is followed with the help of the devices by the referring physician and treating therapists.
Enhancing Adherence through Connected Health Technologies
Argent et al. (2018) discussed the challenges of adherence to home exercise in rehabilitation. They emphasized that connected health technologies, such as mobile devices and inertial measurement units, can offer interventions to enhance adherence. These technologies enable a data-driven approach, incorporating features like coaching, self-monitoring, and education, allowing for more objective monitoring of adherence rates.
Adherence to home exercises in rehabilitation is a major problem, and the reasons for this are multifactorial, covering both psychological and situational factors that vary between each individual and that need to be considered by clinicians in the design of personalized exercise programs.
Mobile-Assisted Telehealth for Exercise in Transplant Candidates
A study by Duarte-Rojo et al. (2023) focused on a mobile-assisted telehealth regimen to increase exercise in transplant candidates. The intervention, which included a personal activity tracker and an app, aimed to improve physical fitness and was found to be feasible with ample patient adherence.
The study demonstrated meaningful improvements in physical fitness metrics and highlighted the potential of technology in supporting exercise regimens for specific patient populations.
Understanding Non-Adherence in Home Exercise Programs
Another study investigated the adherence rate of 250 participants who were prescribed home exercise programs for low back pain. The study found that home exercise programs might interfere with normal life and daily routines, suggesting the need for patient-centered approaches that fit into individual daily routines to overcome identified barriers (Odebiyi et al., 2020).
Personalization and Adaptability
Technology allows for the customization of exercise programs to fit individual patient profiles and their needs by considering their clinical and emotional well-being condition or the stage of treatment. This personalization can lead to more effective management of specific conditions, as seen in the studies on PAD patients and liver transplant candidates.
Interactive and Engaging Solutions
Digital tools can make exercise programs more interactive, engaging, and reinforces client-centered care, which potentially increases motivation and adherence. Features like real-time feedback, gamification, and virtual coaching can transform mundane routines into stimulating activities.
Conclusion
While technology offers significant advantages, it's crucial to address challenges such as ensuring accessibility for all patient populations, maintaining data privacy, security, and providing adequate support for people using these technologies. The integration of technology in home exercise programs represents a promising approach to enhancing clinical outcomes and patient engagement.
As we continue to explore and embrace the integration of technology in home exercise programs, devices like Squegg stand out as beacons of innovation.
The Squegg ecosystem embraces the integration of technology in home exercise programs through an integrated ecosystem comprising the Squegg device, user app and Squegg PRO clinician app. Squegg PRO enables the creation and assignment of HEPs, allowing clinicians to monitor patient progress and adjust parameters such as resistance and frequency as needed. The system also facilitates objective grip and pinch assessments alongside interactive games and activities for hand training. Clinicians can efficiently share program templates within the team, ensuring consistency and efficacy in HEP development. The patients can use a compact, portable Squegg device along with the user app to access and complete their HEP. Therefore, Squegg ecosystem supports the seamless implementation of a hybrid care model, blending digital and in-clinic services to optimize patient engagement and outcomes.
Reference:
Argent, R., Daly, A., & Caulfield, B. (2018). Patient Involvement with Home-Based Exercise Programs: Can Connected Health Interventions Influence Adherence? JMIR MHealth and UHealth, 6(3), e47. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.8518.
Duarte-Rojo, A., Bloomer, P. M., Grubbs, R. K., Stine, J. G., Ladner, D., Hughes, C. B., Dunn, M. A., & Jakicic, J. M. (2023). Use of a Mobile-Assisted Telehealth Regimen to Increase Exercise in Transplant Candidates: A Home-Based Prehabilitation Pilot and Feasibility Trial. Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology, 14(11), e00601. https://doi.org/10.14309/ctg.0000000000000601.
Odebiyi, D., Fapojuwo, O., Olaleye, B., & Olaniyan, A. (2020). Correlates of Nonadherence to home exercise programmes in Patients with Low Back Pain. International Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH, 8(6), 280–292. https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v8.i6.2020.443.
Rotundu, A., Oancea, A., Maștaleru, A., Costache, A.-D., Cumpăt, C. M., Abdulan, I. M., Alexa, A. I., Chirica, C., Russu, M., & Leon, M. M. (2023). Benefits of Integrating Technology into Home Exercise Therapy in Patients with Lower Extremity Peripheral Artery Disease. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(24), 7635. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12247635