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 .
Long-term benefits of radon spa therapy in rheumatic diseases: results of the randomised, multi-centre IMuRa trial
In chronic rheumatic diseases , recent treatment regimens comprise multimodal concepts including pharmacologic , physical/exercise , occupational and psychological therapies . Rehabilitation programmes are used for long-term management of disease . Spa therapy is often integrated in various middle and south European and Asian countries . Here , we investigated radon spa therapy as applied in health resorts compared to a control intervention in rheumatic out- patients . R and omised , blinded trial enroling 681 patients [ mean age 58.3 ( st and ard deviation 11.1 ) ; female 59.7 % ] in 7 health resorts in Germany and Austria with chronic back pain ( n1 = 437 ) , osteoarthritis ( OA ) ( n2 = 230 ) , rheumatoid arthritis ( n3 = 98 ) , and /or ankylosing spondylitis ( n4 = 39 ) ; multiple nominations in 146 cases ) . Outcomes were pain ( primary ) , quality of life , functional capacity , and medication measured before start , after end of treatment , and 3 times thereafter in 3 monthly intervals . Adverse events were documented . To analyse between-group differences , repeated- measures analysis of covariance was performed in metric endpoints and Fisher ’s exact test in rates . Two-sided significance level of 5 % was chosen . Until end of follow-up , superiority of radon therapy was found regarding pain relief ( p = 0.032 ) and analgesic drug consumption ( p = 0.007 ) , but not regarding quality of life . Functional capacity was assessed specific to the underlying indication . Significant benefits were found in radon-treated OA patients until 6-month follow-up ( p = 0.05 ) , but not until end of study ( p = 0.096 ) . Neither the back pain sub- population nor the two smaller patient population s with inflammatory indications benefited significantly in functional capacity . Results suggest beneficial analgesic effects of radon spa therapy in rheumatic diseases until 9 months post-intervention
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 .