Teletherapy: The Cost-Effective Alternative to Traditional Therapy for Knee Arthroplasty 

Updated on October 3, 2024
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About 40% of adults over 70 years of age have symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. Given Americans’ increasing lifespan, it follows that an increasingly large number of people will have to undergo knee replacement surgeries or total knee arthroplasties (TKA) in the future – no fewer than 3.48 million TKA surgeries are projected by 2030.  

As cases of TKA patients needing rehabilitation continue to rise, effective and accessible physical therapy will be crucial in ensuring a healthy and mobile nation. However, sustained visits to a physical therapist over extended periods have multiple challenges for patients and do not come cheap, thus insurance plans often impose strict limits on coverage.   

Clinician-controlled teletherapy promises to be the affordable solution that many TKA patients in this country will sorely need. By enabling patients to work with their surgical team plus physical therapists remotely throughout their recovery process, patients can save on significant logistical costs associated with conventional, in-person physical therapy.  

The need for more affordable knee replacement rehabilitation  

Physical therapy plays an important role in helping TKA patients regain their mobility, to the extent that ambulation on postoperative day 1 led to better recovery outcomes. Yet, costs associated with such services can accumulate quickly. A 2019 study showed that in the first 90 days following TKA, patients incur an average of $3,720. Over the year following TKA, patients can expect to pay an average of $8,930 and visit their physical therapist 33.2 times.  

Because of high costs linked to physical therapy, not all TKA patients can avail themselves of its benefits. For example, only 56% of TKA patients continued receiving physical therapy 90 days after operation. While some patients genuinely recover during this period, many others likely discontinue physical therapy due to mounting costs. A 2023 study reveals that TKA patients from low-income households or those belonging to ethnic minorities were significantly less likely to use physical therapy

Considering the surge in TKA operations in the upcoming years, the question of affordability for patients most in need becomes more pertinent than ever. 

Clinician-controlled teletherapy: affordable and just as effective  

Clinician-controlled teletherapy uses AI in conjunction with connectivity to the patient’s clinical team to replicate —and often improves upon— the in-person physical therapy experience within patients’ home environment. The idea is to combine the therapeutic mobility enabled by a wearable or portable device with machine learning to generate adaptive feedback and real-time health metrics. Based on this data, patients can adjust their agility regimen to best support their recovery. A built-in computer serves as the finishing touch, allowing patients to automatically send clinical data to their physician team & physical therapist while holding virtual check-ins.  

Though clinician controlled teletherapy is a new development, scientific research on the topic has proliferated rapidly, and the conclusion is resoundingly positive: the right teletherapy is just as effective, if not more so, than conventional, face-to-face physical therapy. For example, TKA patients who undergo clinician-controlled teletherapy benefitted from higher extension range and quadriceps strength compared to those who utilized in-person physical therapy. Teletherapy is also associated with fewer rehospitalizations

Equally important is the affordability of clinician-controlled teletherapy. By eliminating most of the logistical and accessibility challenges inherent to in-person rehabilitation, clinician-controlled teletherapy tends to be significantly cheaper. For example, a 2023 study has calculated that teletherapy saves an average of $2,460 per TKA patient while resulting in faster range of motion improvements compared to standard therapy.

With its proven efficacy and reduced costs, there is every good reason to expect clinician-controlled teletherapy to be the next evolution of rehabilitation for knee replacement surgery.  

Teletherapy to the rescue  

The next few years should see an exponential increase of TKA surgeries in the country. In light of surging demand, whether conventional physical therapy meets the needs of every patient is unclear. Clinician-controlled teletherapy, which combines AI-generated mobility routines with virtual consultations with healthcare professionals, emerges as budget-friendly and effective alternative to traditional therapy. Backed by robust scientific research, the advantages of teletherapy are so apparent that even physical therapists are seeking to leverage it to better help their patients. 

Steve Siegel
Steve Siegel
President at 

Steve Siegel, President of ROMTech, is an esteemed leader in medical devices, telemedicine, and AI. He directs ROMTech's revenue strategy, fostering product adoption through robust infrastructure and strategic insights. With a rich history of nurturing enterprise relationships, payer adoption, clinician relationships and driving commercialization initiatives, his expertise has propelled companies to lucrative acquisitions, including Synthes and Tornier. Now, he guides medical startups, leveraging his experience to propel groundbreaking technologies to market success.