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 .
SPA therapy of upper respiratory tract inflammations
The upper airway respiratory diseases ( i.e. common cold , allergic rhinitis , nonallergic/vasomotor rhinitis , acute and chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyposis ) in which nasal congestion is a common symptom are often undertreated due to the frequent inadequate efficacy and safety concern with current therapies . In scientific literature , few studies seem to support the hypothesis that nasal inhalatory treatment with thermal water promotes the improvement of nasal symptoms , even if the mechanisms by which the improvement from SPA therapy can be expected remain debated . A prospect i ve comparative study with a pre – post design has been performed consecutively enrolling 33 ( males 70 % ) patients of both genders older than 12 years of age , affected by chronic sinonasal inflammation . All patients underwent a 14-days course of radioactive water warm vapour inhalations followed by nasal aerosol of the same thermal water 10 min each once/day at Merano Therme . At the beginning and end of the study , in all the subjects , nasal function evaluation by active anterior rhinomanometry , mucociliary transport time ( MCTt ) determination and nasal cytology were performed . After the inhalatory treatment , the mucociliary function was improved and the pathologic mucociliary transport times recorded at the beginning of the study being significantly reduced to physiologic ones . Besides , before treatment , the cytologic picture showed an inflammatory cell infiltration ( eosinophils , neutrophils with/without bacteria , mast cells ) in 37 % of patients ; after therapy in 66 % of these patients , the rhinocytogram was normal . Our results suggest , according to the literature data , that SPA therapy with radioactive water could represent an alternative choice in chronic inflammatory diseases of the upper airways , nonresponsive to pharmacological therapy
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 .