Telerehabilitation for Upper-Limb Musculoskeletal Conditions and Fractures: Two Systematic Reviews on Function, Pain and Strength

Physical therapists, physical therapist assistants and certified hand therapists who deliver or support remote rehabilitation for shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand conditions. Physical therapist assistants may take this course; the content describes the assistant’s part as carrying out the plan of care under the direction and supervision of the physical therapist, with evaluation, diagnosis and plan-of-care decisions remaining with the physical therapist.

Licensed physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and certified hand therapists in outpatient orthopedic, hand therapy, post-surgical and occupational rehabilitation settings.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Intermediate

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course reports the findings of two published systematic reviews of telerehabilitation for the upper limb. No claim in this course goes beyond what these two papers report.

Pietzsch C, Girbig M, Reissig D, Titze S, Freiberg A, Nienhaus A, Seidler A. The effectiveness of telerehabilitation in upper limb musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2026;27(1). doi:10.1186/s12891-026-10008-7. PMID: 42204683. PMCID: PMC13220470.

da Silva GG, de Araùjo FX, Andriola AH, Pereira GC, Silva MF. Telerehabilitation on the Physical and Functional Capacity of Traumatic Fractures of the Upper Limbs: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Int J Telerehabil. 2025;17(1):6667. doi:10.63144/ijt.2025.6667. PMID: 40575141. PMCID: PMC12188932.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe what each of the two systematic reviews reported when telerehabilitation was compared with in-person rehabilitation for pain and daily function in people with upper-limb musculoskeletal conditions and fractures.
2. Distinguish the three delivery models examined in the review of upper-limb musculoskeletal disorders — telerehabilitation instead of in-person care, telerehabilitation instead of brochure-based home exercise, and telerehabilitation added to standard care — and state the outcomes reported for each.
3. Explain where the two reviews agreed and where they diverged, including the grip strength finding reported in the fracture review and how certain each set of authors said the evidence was.

1. Start Here: The Clinical Question and How This Course Is Built
2. Part One: Telerehabilitation Across Upper-Limb Musculoskeletal Disorders
3. Who Was Studied: Shoulder, Wrist and Hand Diagnoses Across Twenty Trials
4. How the Review Was Built: Searching, Screening and Judging Bias
5. What the Review Found Across Its Three Comparisons
6. Certainty, Limits and What the Authors Concluded
7. Part Two: Telerehabilitation After Traumatic Upper-Limb Fractures
8. Wrist, Hand and Finger Fractures: The Patients in the Three Trials
9. Tablet Software, an App and Printed Booklets: How the Trials Were Run and Appraised
10. Function, Pain and Grip Strength at the End of the Four-Week Programs
11. The Two-to-Five-Month Follow-Up and What the Authors Concluded
12. Bringing It Together
13. Where the Two Reviews Agree on Function and Pain
14. Where They Diverge: Grip Strength, Certainty and the Comparison Group
15. Planning Remote Upper-Limb Rehabilitation: Delivery Mode, Dosage and the Therapy Team
16. What the Evidence Still Leaves Open
17. Key Takeaways
18. Post-Test and Course Evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 1.0 contact hour (60 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. Pietzsch C, Girbig M, Reissig D, Titze S, Freiberg A, Nienhaus A, Seidler A. The effectiveness of telerehabilitation in upper limb musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2026;27(1). doi:10.1186/s12891-026-10008-7
2. da Silva GG, de Araùjo FX, Andriola AH, Pereira GC, Silva MF. Telerehabilitation on the Physical and Functional Capacity of Traumatic Fractures of the Upper Limbs: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Int J Telerehabil. 2025;17(1):6667. doi:10.63144/ijt.2025.6667