Digital Care Programs for Chronic Hip Pain: A Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Orthopedics
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Chronic hip pain is a major global cause of disability.
• Digital interventions (DI) offer accessible management solutions.
• Remote multimodal DI can address access barriers in chronic hip pain care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess clinical outcomes and patient engagement in a remote, home-based multimodal digital intervention for chronic hip pain.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of exercise with biofeedback, education, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
• To determine patient satisfaction and treatment response rates.

Main Methods:

• A single-arm interventional study design was employed.
• Participants engaged in a home-based DI including exercise, education, and CBT.
• Outcomes were measured using the Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS), pain levels, and other secondary measures.
• Latent growth curve analysis was used to assess changes from baseline to program end.

Main Results:

• A high completion rate of 74.2% was achieved, with significant patient engagement (2.9 sessions/week) and satisfaction (8.7/10).
• Significant improvements were observed across all HOOS sub-scales (14.7–26.8%, p < 0.05).
• 66.8% of patients showed a treatment response based on pain reduction, with marked improvements in surgery intent (70.1%), mental health (54%), and productivity (60.5%) (all p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• The remote multimodal digital intervention demonstrated high patient engagement and satisfaction.
• Significant improvements in clinical outcomes, including pain, function, and mental health, were achieved.
• This study supports the potential of remote digital care for effectively managing chronic hip conditions.