Exploring Telerehabilitation with Clynx® Platform: Usability and Impact Assessment

Abstract

Telerehabilitation offers a transformative approach to physiotherapy, offering convenience, practicality, and sustainability. This paper presents a clinical study conducted at Unidade Local de Saúde do Oeste, in Portugal, involving 37 physiotherapy patients with chronic shoulder pain who utilized the Clynx® Platform for an average of 15.22 home-based sessions. Analysis of physiotherapist login data and patient travel data allowed for evaluation of platform usability, physiotherapist time management, and environmental impact. Patients highlighted schedule flexibility and time optimization as primary advantages, with 36.85% of sessions occurring on weekends and after hours, catering especially to busy professionals. In this study, telerehabilitation saved over 12,000 kilometres of travel and related expenses, while reducing carbon emissions by over 1.30 tons. The Clynx® Platform optimized physiotherapist-patient time management, saving approximately 45.30% of time in mild patient care, which could be redirected to more acute cases, potentially alleviating waiting lists in public hospitals. Telerehabilitation demonstrated positive impacts on usability, socioeconomic factors, and environmental indicators for both patients and healthcare professionals, driving the digitization of physiotherapy towards efficient, sustainable, and patientcentric care. This study underscores telerehabilitation as a promising avenue for the future of physiotherapy.