Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on pre-existing shoulder problems: Is telerehabilitation a useful tool for physical therapy?

Abstract

To the Editor, On March 11, 2020, the world health organization announced coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic.[1] During this global crisis, worldwide governments set up severe rules limiting individual freedom and keeping social distancing to avoid the deterioration of national health-care systems. Patients who had specific life-threatening conditions or suffering from severe COVID-19 needing high-intensity levels of care (e.g., intensive care units) were permitted to refer to hospitals. Furthermore, physical therapy and rehabilitation programs were postponed to provide better care for inpatients with severe COVID-19. In an Italian survey, during the pandemic, more than 50% of stroke patients have reported a reduction in seeking treatment in the hospital, possibly in fear of being infected or being denied seeing their families after hospitalization. [2] What can we say about the patients with painful musculoskeletal problems?