Shoulder injuries and shoulder pain are extremely common, especially in areas where a majority of people work with their hands, or where falls are common. Severe shoulder pain assessments help to identify whether a shoulder injury needs to be addressed by surgery, or if a conservative management program will be enough to help patients recover from their injury. 

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Right now, these assessments are done by an orthopedic surgeon, and the wait time is extremely long. Recently, the Northgate clinic in Edmonton began completing these surgery or no surgery assessments in a new way: with a physiotherapist completing the groundwork, and an orthopedic surgeon available to consult if things aren't straightforward. This system has been very successful, but it still requires patients to travel to the Northgate clinic to be assessed. Our Tele-Rehab 2.0 assessment will let this triage be completed with patients in their local clinic or long term care facility, instead of travelling. This will help patients get the treatment they need faster while minimizing COVID-19 exposure, and will lead to better outcomes and decreased pain overall.

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Additionally, we have been working to develop a validation project for shoulder surgery follow-up. We are using our virtual technologies in collaboration with the Sturgeon hospital to measure patients’ range of motion during their in-person follow-up. This provides us with the opportunity to compare the results of virtual with in-person measurements. If the technology is comparable to in-person services, it will allow patients to receive the care they need, without the travel, stress, and personal costs they currently have to deal with.

If the technology proves to be as reliable as in-person services, this will be an excellent example of how technology can decrease the amount of travel that patients need to undergo, particularly for follow-up visits.

 

Scroll to learn more about the expertise that has shaped our Tele-Rehab Shoulder Assessment!