HRM  treatment is associated with clinical improvement in diseases of the skin , respiratory , circulatory , digestive and nervous system among others .
The scientific literature of the last decade has shown that a number of non-musculoskeletal disorders are treated with different kinds of  HRM .
Health resort medicine ( HRM ; in German : Kurortmedizin ) is a field of medicine with long-lasting tradition in several European countries .
A number of systematic review s have shown the effectiveness of HRM  in musculoskeletal conditions .
Review s focusing on the effectiveness of HRM in non-musculoskeletal disorders are rare .
This systematic review aims to provide an overview about all types of health resort treatments applied in non-musculoskeletal conditions , to summarize evidence for its effectiveness and to assess the quality of published studies .
Effect of inhalation of thermal water on airway inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Thermal water inhalations have been traditionally used in the treatment of upper and lower chronic airway diseases . However , the benefit and the mechanism of this treatment have not been properly assessed . To determine whether inhaled salt-bromide-iodine thermal water improves lung function , quality of life and airway inflammation , 39 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ) were r and omly assigned to receive 2-weeks inhalation treatment with thermal water ( active , no. = 20 ) or normal saline ( control , no. = 19 ) in single blind . Lung volumes were measured , Saint George 's respiratory question naire ( SGRQ ) was administered and induced sputum was performed before and after treatment . No changes in pre- and post-salbutamol lung volumes was observed after inhalation treatment in both groups . SGRQ score showed a significant improvement in active group compared with control group at the end of the trial . The concentration of total cells in induced sputum increased significantly in both active ( P < 0.05 ) and control groups ( P < 0.05 ) . Inhalation of thermal water induced a small but significant decrease in percentages of sputum neutrophils ( P < 0.01 ) and a parallel increase in macrophages ( P < 0.01 ) . In contrast , normal saline inhalation was not associated with changes in differential sputum cell counts . In conclusion , treatment with inhaled salt-bromide-iodine thermal water in COPD is associated with a reduced proportion of neutrophils in induced sputum suggesting that thermal water may have a mild anti-inflammatory effect on the airways . However , the short-term improvement in some components health-related quality of life was not related with changes in lung function or with the degree of airway inflammation
HRM  treatment is associated with clinical improvement in diseases of the skin , respiratory , circulatory , digestive and nervous system among others .
The scientific literature of the last decade has shown that a number of non-musculoskeletal disorders are treated with different kinds of  HRM .
Health resort medicine ( HRM ; in German : Kurortmedizin ) is a field of medicine with long-lasting tradition in several European countries .
A number of systematic review s have shown the effectiveness of HRM  in musculoskeletal conditions .
Review s focusing on the effectiveness of HRM in non-musculoskeletal disorders are rare .
This systematic review aims to provide an overview about all types of health resort treatments applied in non-musculoskeletal conditions , to summarize evidence for its effectiveness and to assess the quality of published studies .