Remote rehabilitation for neck pain still has an uncertain evidence base
Some remotely delivered exercise programs may reduce chronic neck pain, but a Cochrane review found that overall effectiveness remains unresolved.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Remotely delivered exercise may reduce chronic neck pain over the short term compared with minimal intervention, but that finding had low certainty. Results differed by the content of rehabilitation and the outcome assessed. The review's overall conclusion was that available evidence does not yet settle whether telerehabilitation is effective for nonspecific neck pain.
All studies had high risk of bias related to participant and therapist blinding and outcome assessment. Reporting gaps for adverse events also prevent a confident assessment of harms from this abstract.
What researchers found
Mean difference in pain intensity
Remote exercise or physical activity versus minimal intervention at short-term follow-up, on a 0 to 100 scale; low-certainty evidence.
Content mattered
The review separated exercise, education or psychological support, and programs combining components. Education or psychological support probably improved short-term function, while the pain findings for that category were very uncertain compared with minimal intervention.
Pain and function are separate
Although remote exercise showed a possible pain benefit, its effect on function was very uncertain. Quality-of-life findings were also uncertain, so the pain estimate should not be read as evidence of broader recovery.
The original publication
Telerehabilitation for neck pain.
Fandim JV, Almeida de Oliveira L, Yamato TP et al.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40792483
- Record checked
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