Iranian Rehabilitation Journal

en EFFECTIVENESS OF APP-BASED TELEREHABILITATION FOR HEMIPLEGIC SHOULDER PAIN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL طب فیزیکی و توانبخشی Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation پژوهشي Original Research Articles Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a mobile application–based telerehabilitation program as a supplementary intervention to conventional rehabilitation in enhancing Range of Motion (ROM), pain relief, and functional shoulder capacity among stroke patients with hemiplegic shoulder pain. Methods: This randomized controlled trial involved 40 stroke patients with hemiplegic shoulder pain (n=20 per group) and was conducted over a 12-week period from November 2024 to July 2025. Subjects were divided into an intervention group (conventional rehabilitation plus telerehabilitation) and a control group (conventional rehabilitation only). Outcomes measured were ROM and the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI). Results: Both the intervention and control groups showed significant within-group improvement (p = < 0.01) across all shoulder ROM and SPADI outcomes, demonstrating large effect sizes (r = 0.7 – 0.88). Details of the within-group improvements (reported as Mean Change ± SD) are as follows: for flexion ROM (Intervention = 11.67 ± 9.2; Control = 19.44 ± 16.6), abduction ROM (Intervention = 20.0 ± 15.9; Control = 27.77 ± 19.86), SPADI Pain (Intervention = 16.4 ± 7.75; Control = 13.5 ± 6.68), and SPADI Disability (Intervention = 24.89 ± 8.06; Control = 19.39 ± 6.14). When comparing the two groups, the intervention group showed superior improvement notably in disability scores (p = 0.031), with a mean difference change of 5.5 (95% CI: 0.6 - 10.3) and a medium effect size (r = 0.35). No statistically significant between-group differences were observed in pain (p = 0.134), flexion ROM (p = 0.181), or abduction ROM (p = 0.204). Discussion: The supplementary telerehabilitation program provides a superior improvement specifically in disability scores for hemiplegic shoulder pain patients, though it does not significantly enhance pain relief or ROM beyond conventional rehabilitation. Keywords: hemiplegic shoulder pain, stroke, telerehabilitation   hemiplegic shoulder pain, stroke, telerehabilitation 0 0 http://irj.uswr.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-2683-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Muhammad Zuhal Darwis mzuhaldarwis@gmail.com No Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia Husnul Mubarak husnul.rehab@gmail.com Yes Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia Melda Warliani meldawarliani@unhas.ac.id No Medical Rehabilitation Installation, Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital, Makassar, Indonesia Andi Alfian Zainuddin a.alfian@med.unhas.ac.id No Faculty of Medicine Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia Yose Waluyo yose_waluyo@yahoo.com No Medical Rehabilitation Installation, Hasanuddin University Hospital, Makassar, Indonesia Nuralam Sam nuralamsam@unhas.ac.id No Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia