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 .
The incidence of rheumatoid arthritis in the United Kingdom: results from the Norfolk Arthritis Register.
This paper provides the first data on the incidence of RA  based on a prospect i ve population -based register . All new cases of inflammatory polyarthritis in the Norwich Health Authority are notified by general practitioners to the Norfolk Arthritis Register . The patients are then clinical ly evaluated by metrologists and blood taken for RF estimation . Cases of RA were defined as all those notified with an onset of symptoms in 1990 ; who presented by 31 December 1991 ; and who satisfied the 1987 ARA criteria for RA at the time of presentation . Two hundred and ten patients were notified in the defined time-frame , of whom 104 were classified as having RA . The annual incidence rate was 36/100,000 for women and 14/100,000 for men .  RA was rare in men aged under 45 yr . The incidence in men rose steeply with age . The incidence in women rose up to age 45 yr , plateaued to age 75 yr , and fell in the very elderly
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 .