Telehealth Physical Therapy for Musculoskeletal Complaints: How Feasible is it in a Developing Nation in the 21st Century?

Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are a leading cause of disability, particularly in rural regions of developing nations where access to physiotherapy is limited. Telehealth offers a potential solution by delivering physical therapy remotely. However, its feasibility for conservative musculoskeletal management beyond post-surgical care remains underexplored in such settings. The study aimed to assess the feasibility and patient acceptance of telehealth physical therapy for musculoskeletal complaints in a rural region of a developing country. A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted in a tertiary care institute serving a predominantly rural population. Patients with non-surgical musculoskeletal conditions who had access to smartphones and English literacy were included. Participants were guided to access prescribed physical therapy exercises via online video links and completed a structured questionnaire four weeks later to evaluate understanding, adherence and symptom relief. Among 257 participants (72.8% rural), 75.1% reported symptom relief and 68.9% preferred telehealth for future care. Over 90.0% successfully accessed and understood the exercises; however, barriers included lack of time (48.6%), difficulty understanding techniques (12.1%) and unavailability of local-language content (10.9%). No demographic factors significantly correlated with symptom relief. Telehealth physical therapy is a feasible and well-accepted modality for managing MSK complaints in rural populations of developing nations. Despite adherence and content-language challenges, it holds promise for improving rehabilitation access. Strategic implementation focusing on culturally appropriate content, digital literacy and hybrid care models could expand its effectiveness and scalability.