Using Telehealth to Improve Musculoskeletal Care Through Expanded Physical Therapy Access

Conditions

• Musculoskeletal Pain

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

18 Years - 64 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• In-person physical therapy (PT) — OTHER
  Participants assigned to in-person PT will receive individual treatment sessions provided by a licensed, on-site PT. Participants will receive 1-on-1 sessions based on the preference and clinical expertise of the clinician. Participants assigned to in-person physical therapy will receive individual treatment sessions provided by a licensed, on-site physical therapist at the participating military treatment facility. Physical therapists delivering in-person physical therapy will have the option to provide participants a digital home exercise program, however this will not be required. If you choose to download and use either app, you will have to accept the app's terms of service.
• Telehealth physical therapy (TH-PT) — OTHER
  Participants assigned to telehealth physical therapy will use two-way video conferencing with a licensed physical therapist via a secure platform approved for patient care. Video conferencing will be accessible via a mobile app or web browser on your home computer. Participants assigned to telehealth physical therapy will be provided a digital home exercise program. The home exercise program is accessible via a mobile app or web browser on your home computer. This is an app that some military clinics already use as standard of care for providing home exercise programs to their patients, so there is a chance you would be receiving your exercises by this method even if you didn't participate in this study.

Study Details

The purpose of this study is to explore and compare the effectiveness of in-person versus remote physical therapy (PT) for the treatment of musculoskeletal (MSK) pain within the Military Health System (MHS).

Key Dates

First listed

Jul 15, 2026

Start date

Jul 1, 2026

Status verified

Jul 2026

Primary completion

Mar 1, 2028

Completion

Jul 1, 2028

Study Design

Enrollment

210 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Arms

• Active Comparator: In-person physical therapy (PT)
  Participants will receive individual treatment sessions provided in-person based on the preference and clinical expertise of the clinician. All sessions will be supervised in a clinic. A digital exercise prescription and patient education platform will be available for their use.
• Experimental: Telehealth physical therapy (TH-PT)
  Participants will receive individual treatment sessions provided remotely via a 2-way video conferencing platform. The core components of the treatment sessions include: 1) education, particularly on the biopsychosocial aspects of pain, 2) individualized exercise instruction, and 3) pain coping strategies for self-management. A digital exercise prescription and patient education platform will be available for their use.

Primary Outcome Measure

Pain, Enjoyment, and General Activity Scale (PEG-3) [ Time Frame: 12 Weeks ]

Central Contacts

• Tina Greenlee, PhD
  210-539-9638
  [email protected]
• Cedar Sexton
  210-916-8634
  [email protected]

Locations (4)

Find similar trials in Tripler AMC, HI

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