Telerehabilitation vs. In-person Physiotherapy in Young Elite Baseball Players

June 8, 2026 updated by: Taichung Veterans General Hospital

The Effectiveness of Telerehabilitation vs. In-person Physiotherapy in Young Elite Baseball Players With Rotator Cuff Pathology: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study compares physical therapy delivered through video calls to in-person therapy for young baseball players with shoulder pain. The goal is to see if remote therapy is as effective and easier for them to stick with

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study compares physical therapy delivered through video calls to in-person therapy for young baseball players with shoulder pain. The goal is to see if remote therapy is as effective and easier for them to stick with

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

50

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
    • Taichung
      • Taichung, Taichung, Taiwan, 407
        • Taichung Veterans General Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • unilateral shoulder symptoms (chronic pain, instability, or weakness) for more than 3 months together with a diagnosis of rotator cuff tendinopathy or mild partial-thickness tear (≤25% of tendon thickness) confirmed by ultrasound or MRI

Exclusion Criteria:

  • history of prior shoulder surgery within the past 12 months; partial-thickness tear greater than 25% or full-thickness tear; associated pathology requiring surgical management (e.g., humeral head avulsion fracture); significant elbow symptoms or injury; systemic inflammatory disease; neurologic disorders affecting upper limb function; and inability to comply with the intervention or scheduled assessments

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Telerehabilitation
A 6-week program delivered via real-time video sessions
Behavioral: Telerehabilitation Physiotherapy
Delivered via real-time video sessions focusing on strengthening and mobility exercises.
Active Comparator: In-person
A 6-week program delivered face-to-face, including hands-on treatments
Behavioral: In person physiotherapy
face-to-face, including hands-on treatments like tactile feedback and joint mobilization.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic (KJOC) Shoulder and Elbow Score
Time Frame: 6 weeks
Change in scores on the KJOC, a self-reported questionnaire assessing functional performance in overhead athletes.
6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Shoulder painless range of motion (ROM)
Time Frame: 6 weeks
Abduction, external rotation, and internal rotation
6 weeks
Isokinetic External Rotation (ER) Strength
Time Frame: 6 weeks
Measured at 60°/s and 180°/s with Biodex
6 weeks
Pain Intensity
Time Frame: 6 weeks
Measured by a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) on a scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (most painful)
6 weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Supervised Session Attendance
Time Frame: 6 weeks
Percentage of attended sessions out of 12 at 6 weeks.
6 weeks
Home Exercise Compliance
Time Frame: 6 weeks
Percentage of completed sessions based on self-reported logs at 6 weeks.
6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Taichung Veterans General Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 10, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 2, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 9, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

September 10, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 8, 2026

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CE22241A

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Rotator Cuff Tear

Clinical Trials on Telerehabilitation Physiotherapy

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Bahamas

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe