Rural Access to Physical Therapy for Osteoarthritis Rehabilitation (RAPTOR): A Pilot Feasibility Study.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate feasibility and future trial design parameters for a novel hybrid in-person + telerehabilitation program (RAPTOR) for rural residents with knee osteoarthritis.

DESIGN

Single-arm pilot feasibility study, pre-post design.

METHODS

Rural-dwelling adults with knee osteoarthritis were eligible to participate in the RAPTOR program, consisting of up to 10 visits with a physical therapist: 2 visits delivered in person and 8 delivered via telehealth. Feasibility was defined as a combination of acceptability, demand, implementation, integration, and safety. Clinical outcomes entailed a combination of patient-reported and performance-based functional measures. Satisfaction with telerehabilitation was assessed using the Telehealth Usability Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Among 20 participants, RAPTOR was feasible and safe based on meeting recruitment/attendance targets and no adverse events during the study. Participants reported high satisfaction with telerehabilitation. Most participants (13/16) who completed the RAPTOR program demonstrated clinically important improvement in patient-reported function, and more than half (7-10/14) demonstrated clinically important improvement on the various performance-based function tests.

CONCLUSION

A novel hybrid in-person + telerehabilitation program was safe and feasible. A high proportion demonstrated improvements in function. Participants expressed high degrees of satisfaction with telerehabilitation, supporting its use among rural-dwelling older adults. Further testing of this hybrid approach is needed in a comparative trial. JOSPT Open 2026;4(1):61-68. Epub 3 October 2025. doi:10.2519/josptopen.2025.0167.