We found no statistically significant differences in pain on the McGill Question naire or in physical disability ( very low level of evidence ) between balneotherapy and the other interventions .
Overall evidence is insufficient to show that balneotherapy is more effective than no treatment , that one type of bath is more effective than another or that one type of bath is more effective than mudpacks , exercise or relaxation therapy
BACKGROUND No cure for rheumatoid arthritis ( RA ) is known at present , so treatment often focuses on management of symptoms such as pain , stiffness and mobility .
Treatment options include pharmacological interventions , physical therapy treatments and balneotherapy .
Balneotherapy is defined as bathing in natural mineral or thermal waters ( e.g. mineral baths , sulphur baths , Dead Sea baths ) , using mudpacks or doing both .
Despite its popularity , reported scientific evidence for the effectiveness or efficacy of balneotherapy is sparse .
This review , which evaluates the effects of balneotherapy in patients with RA , is an up date of a Cochrane review first published in 2003 and up date d in 2008 .
OBJECTIVES To perform a systematic review on the benefits and harms of balneotherapy in patients with RA in terms of pain , improvement , disability , tender joints , swollen joints and adverse events .
Balneophototherapy of psoriasis: highly concentrated salt water versus tap water--a randomized, one-blind, right/left comparative study.
BACKGROUND / PURPOSE Apart from climatotherapy and spa therapy , combined treatment with salt water baths and artificial UV radiation ( balneophototherapy ) has been advocated for the treatment of psoriasis . As there is a lack of controlled studies on balneophototherapy ( BPT ) , we conducted a r and omized , one-blind , right/left comparison with salt water versus tap water in order to investigate the significance of the salt concentration in the efficacy of BPT . METHODS Ten psoriasis patients with chronic plaques on the elbows were included in the study . One elbow was soaked in 24 % NaCl solution and the other in tap water . Subsequently , broadb and UVB irradiation was administered . BPT was performed 4 times weekly with a total of 30 treatments . RESULTS A highly significant ( P<0.001 ) decrease of the clinical baseline score was observed after 30 treatments ; however , there was no significant ( P>0.5 ) difference in clearance of the psoriatic lesions between the sites soaked in salt water and tap water . CONCLUSION Our results suggest that any additional benefit of soaking in salt water and tap water in BPT are unlikely to be due to the salinity of the liquids
We found no statistically significant differences in pain on the McGill Question naire or in physical disability ( very low level of evidence ) between balneotherapy and the other interventions .
Overall evidence is insufficient to show that balneotherapy is more effective than no treatment , that one type of bath is more effective than another or that one type of bath is more effective than mudpacks , exercise or relaxation therapy
BACKGROUND No cure for rheumatoid arthritis ( RA ) is known at present , so treatment often focuses on management of symptoms such as pain , stiffness and mobility .
Treatment options include pharmacological interventions , physical therapy treatments and balneotherapy .
Balneotherapy is defined as bathing in natural mineral or thermal waters ( e.g. mineral baths , sulphur baths , Dead Sea baths ) , using mudpacks or doing both .
Despite its popularity , reported scientific evidence for the effectiveness or efficacy of balneotherapy is sparse .
This review , which evaluates the effects of balneotherapy in patients with RA , is an up date of a Cochrane review first published in 2003 and up date d in 2008 .
OBJECTIVES To perform a systematic review on the benefits and harms of balneotherapy in patients with RA in terms of pain , improvement , disability , tender joints , swollen joints and adverse events .