Effectiveness of Telerehabilitation as an Alternative to Outpatient Physiotherapy in the 1 Month After Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair Surgery

Effectiveness of Telerehabilitation as an Alternative to Outpatient Physiotherapy in the 1 Month After Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair Surgery: Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial

The present study aims to verify whether telerehabilitation as an alternative to in-person treatment (both conducted by a physiotherapist) can be a valid option in terms of pain, recovery of the rom, shoulder functionality compared to those provided by therapy alone. face-to-face rehabilitation in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Rotator Cuff Injuries
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Standard Treatment; Procedure: Experimental Treatment

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 46
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Silvana Sartini, MD; Phone Number: 051 0516366; Email: silvana.sartini@ior.it

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Ferrara
    • Lagosanto, Ferrara, Italy, 44023
      • Not yet recruiting
      • Ospedale del Delta
      • Contact: elisabetta zucchini
  • Italia
    • Bologna, Italia, Italy, 40136
      • Recruiting
      • IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli
      • Contact: Silvana Sartini, MD; Phone Number: 051 0516366

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female patients aged between 40 and 70 years
• Patients undergoing arthroscopic repair surgery of the rotator cuff tendons
• Start of outpatient treatment within 7 days of discharge from the Orthopedic Department of the Argenta and Delta hospitals
• Continuation of rehabilitation care at the IOR Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine service in Argenta or at the Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Medicine service of the Delta Hospital.
• Patients who have provided informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previous shoulder surgeries
• difficulty understanding the Italian language/language barrier
• unavailability of IT devices or stable wi-fi connection by the patient

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Standard	Procedure: Standard Treatment; Patients who will be assigned to the control group and subjected to standard treatment (usual care at our clinic) will undergo a physiotherapy treatment of 8 in-person sessions for 4 post-operative weeks
Experimental: experimental	Procedure: Experimental Treatment; patients who will be assigned to the experimental group and subjected to the experimental treatment will undergo a physiotherapy treatment of 8 sessions in telerehabilitation for 4 post-operative weeks

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Constant-Murley Score	The Constant-Murley score (CMS) is a 100-point scale made up of a series of individual parameters. These parameters define the patient's pain level and ability to carry out normal daily activities	At baseline (day 0), after one months, after 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mobility of the shoulder	Range of motion of the shoulder seen by movements made during the rehabilitation	At baseline (day 0), after one months, after 3 months
Numeric rating scale	Description of pain by numeric rating scale, from 0 no pain, to 10 worst pain ever (0-10)	At baseline (day 0), after one months, after 3 months
Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand	The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire is a 30-item questionnaire that examines a patient's ability to perform certain upper extremity activities	at baseline, after 3 months and after 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 22, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 16, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 19, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): December 20, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 26, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 19, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: telerehabilitation; physiotherapist; rotator cuff repair surgery
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Shoulder Injuries; Wounds and Injuries; Rupture; Tendon Injuries; Rotator Cuff Injuries
• Other Study ID Numbers: Teleriab-Cuffia

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No