The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered governments worldwide to implement severe restrictions on physical therapy protocols in order to better control the spread of the virus. One of the mechanisms of providing physical therapy patient care during this era is via telemedicine. Telerehabilitation or telerehab is a technological visual-audio system that serves patients, including those with a spine injury, ailment, or postoperatively, with neurological deficits. In this scoping review, we discuss the development of telerehab, the technological advances in the field, and the usage of telerehab specifically pertaining to spine patients, and comment on the advancement of telerehab in the time of COVID-19. There is preliminary evidence that suggests that the adoption of telerehab in lieu of face-to-face interventions is beneficial for reducing pain and improving physical function in patients afflicted with chronic nonmalignant musculoskeletal pain from low back pain, lumbar stenosis, neck pain, and osteoarthritis. Availability is important, as the necessary technology should be accessible to all participants. Safety and security should be addressed, as the passage of patient data over the Internet requires secure confidentiality. Ease-of-use is crucial to promote practicality, user-friendly operation, and adherence to therapy. The combination of evidence-based methodologies with cost-effective services will serve as a basis for the further expansion of vital telerehab services and increases reimbursement by health insurance providers.

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BACKGROUND YouTube is a popular platform with many videos which have potential educational value for medical students. Due to the lack of peer review, other surrogates are necessary to determine the content quality of such educational videos. Few studies have analyzed the research background of the physicians associated with the production of YouTube videos for medical education. The research background of those physicians may be a reflection of the content quality of these educational videos. OBJECTIVE This study identifies physicians associated with the production of educational YouTube videos about shingles and analyzes the physicians based on their research background. METHODS Using the YouTube search engine with default settings, the term “shingles” was searched on May 8, 2020. A cross-sectional study was performed using the first 50 search results. A search on Scopus for each identified physician was performed and data regarding their research background was recorded. RESULTS Of the 50 YouTube videos, 35 (70%) were categorized as academic. From the academic videos, 24 (71%) featured physicians totaling 25 physicians overall. Five physicians (20%) had at least 1 shingles-related publication. Eight physicians (32%) had an h-index >10. Twenty-one physicians (84%) held an academic affiliation. CONCLUSIONS These results ensure to a certain degree the quality of the content in academic videos on YouTube for medical education. However, more evaluation is needed for this growing platform.