Observational studyJournal of medical Internet research2023
Postmarketing Follow-Up of a Digital Home Exercise Program for Back, Hip, and Knee Pain: Retrospective Observational Study With a Time-Series and Matched-Pair Analysis.
Observational study in Journal of medical Internet research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Impact of 25 Years of Mobile Health Tools for Pain Management in Patients With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Impact of personalized coaching on the use of digital health interventions for movement therapy in rheumatology: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Combined Use of Digital and Analog Physical Therapy in Patients With Musculoskeletal Disorders and Indicators of Chronicity: German Claims Data Analysis.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Article
- [What is health services research?]Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2025Article
- The Effect of Therapeutic Adherence on the Effectiveness of a Digital Therapeutic Exercise Program: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMusculoskeletal conditions are the main drivers of global disease burden and cause significant direct and indirect health care costs. Digital health applications improve the availability of and access to adequate care. The German health care system established a pathway for the approval of "Digitale Gesundheitsanwendungen" (DiGAs; Digital Health Applications) as collectively funded medical services through the "Digitale-Versorgung-Gesetz" (Digital Health Care Act) in 2019.
objectiveThis article presents real-world prescription data collected through the smartphone-based home exercise program "Vivira," a fully approved DiGA, regarding its effect on self-reported pain intensity and physical inability in patients with unspecific and degenerative pain in the back, hip, and knee.
methodsThis study included 3629 patients (71.8% [2607/3629] female; mean age 47 years, SD 14.2 years). The primary outcome was the self-reported pain score, which was assessed with a verbal numerical rating scale. The secondary outcomes were self-reported function scores. To analyze the primary outcome, we used a 2-sided Skillings-Mack test. For function scores, a time analysis was not feasible; therefore, we calculated matched pairs using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
resultsOur results showed significant reductions in self-reported pain intensity after 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks in the Skillings-Mack test (T
conclusionsThis study presents postmarketing observational data from one of the first DiGAs for unspecific and degenerative musculoskeletal pain. We noted significant improvements in self-reported pain intensity throughout the observation period of 12 weeks, which reached clinical relevance. Additionally, we identified a complex response pattern of the function scores assessed. Lastly, we highlighted the challenges of relevant attrition at follow-up and the potential opportunities for evaluating digital health applications. Although our findings do not have confirmatory power, they illustrate the potential benefits of digital health applications to improve the availability of and access to medical care.
trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register DRKS00024051; https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00024051.
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