Home-based telerehabilitation on motor function in youth with cerebral palsy: systematic review and meta-analysis.

What was studied

This review pooled results from earlier trials of home-based telerehabilitation. That means therapy guided from a distance while the child stays at home. The review aimed at young people aged 3 to 18 with brain growth problems. Therapy at home was compared with usual care or regular therapy. The team searched research databases up to January 2026. They used only trials where people were put into groups by chance.

What they found

The review took in trials with 419 young people in total. All of them were children with cerebral palsy. Therapy at home may have helped large body movements. But the results differed a lot from trial to trial. A few trials gave very unusual results that swayed the overall answer. For small hand movements, the effect was smaller. This effect was not clear and could be due to chance.

What it means for patients

The authors say therapy at home may help work on large movements. They see it as a possible add-on to other kinds of therapy. This applies to children and teens with cerebral palsy. The authors say better trials are needed to show that it works. They also want to know if the gains matter in daily care.

Why it is not certain yet

The authors rated how sure the evidence is as low. Results varied a lot from one trial to the next. The review aimed wider, but it only found trials in cerebral palsy. So the results may not hold for other brain growth problems. Questions remain on how well families kept up the therapy. It is also not clear how the therapy should be given. A review can only be as good as the studies in it.

Source

Home-based telerehabilitation on motor function in youth with cerebral palsy: systematic review and meta-analysis.

We restate facts from the source record in our own words. The original wording belongs to its publisher.