Teleneurorehabilitation for Parkinson's Disease: A Panacea for the Times to Come?

ABSTRACT

Telemedicine is witnessing a rebirth due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing need for limited-contact or contactless care in medicine. Telerehabilitation, an offshoot of telemedicine, is a valuable yet underexplored tool in the therapeutic armamentarium of patients with neurological conditions, particularly Parkinson's disease (PD). Although there is evidence in literature reporting the use of telerehabilitation and virtual reality-based services in providing rehabilitation to improve speech, swallowing, gait, and postural instability among persons with PD, the evidence is limited due to small patient numbers. Teleneurorehabilitation (TNR) is an underutilized strategy that may be as effective and perhaps more feasible and affordable among Indian PD patients and also allows sustained rehabilitation. In this article, we encapsulate the evidence on the utility and efficacy of TNR among persons with PD and call upon the neurology community to recognize and utilize the valuable asset that TNR may be for PD patients.