Among all the studies , the most relevant indexes used to measure effectiveness of spa therapy were improved including VAS , Lequesne , and WOMAC Score .
Conclusions The mud-pack therapy , balneotherapy , mud-bath therapy , and spa therapy have proved to be effective in the treatment and in the secondary prevention of knee osteoarthritis , by reducing pain , nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug consumption , and functional limitation and improving quality of life of affected patients
Background Osteoarthritis ( OA ) is the most common musculoskeletal disease in the world .
OA is the result of an inflammatory and degenerative process affecting the entire joint .
Osteoarthritis , especially involving the knee , has a relevant socioeconomic impact in terms of drugs , hospital admissions , work absences , and temporary or permanent invalidity .
Therapy of knee osteoarthritis is based on pharmacological and nonpharmacological measures .
Anti-inflammatory effect as a mechanism of effectiveness underlying the clinical benefits of pelotherapy in osteoarthritis patients: regulation of the altered inflammatory and stress feedback response
The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate whether an anti-inflammatory effect together with an improvement of the regulation of the interaction between the inflammatory and stress responses underlies the clinical benefits of pelotherapy in osteoarthritis ( OA ) patients . This study evaluated the effects of a 10-day cycle of pelotherapy at the spa centre ‘ El Raposo ’ ( Spain ) in a group of 21 OA patients diagnosed with primary knee OA . Clinical assessment s included pain intensity using a visual analog scale ; pain , stiffness and physical function using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index ; and health-related quality of life using the EuroQol-5D question naire . Serum inflammatory cytokine levels ( IL-1β , TNF-α , IL-8 , IL-6 , IL-10 and TGF-β ) were evaluated using the Bio-Plex ® Luminex ® system . Circulating neuroendocrine-stress biomarkers , such as cortisol and extracellular 72 kDa heat shock protein ( eHsp72 ) , were measured by ELISA . After the cycle of mud therapy , OA patients improved the knee flexion angle and OA-related pain , stiffness and physical function , and they reported a better health-related quality of life . Serum concentrations of IL-1β , TNF-α , IL-8 , IL-6 and TGF-β , as well as eHsp72 , were markedly decreased . Besides , systemic levels of cortisol increased significantly . These results confirm that the clinical benefits of mud therapy may well be mediated , at least in part , by its systemic anti-inflammatory effects and neuroendocrine-immune regulation in OA patients . Thus , mud therapy could be an effective alternative treatment in the management of OA
Among all the studies , the most relevant indexes used to measure effectiveness of spa therapy were improved including VAS , Lequesne , and WOMAC Score .
Conclusions The mud-pack therapy , balneotherapy , mud-bath therapy , and spa therapy have proved to be effective in the treatment and in the secondary prevention of knee osteoarthritis , by reducing pain , nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug consumption , and functional limitation and improving quality of life of affected patients
Background Osteoarthritis ( OA ) is the most common musculoskeletal disease in the world .
OA is the result of an inflammatory and degenerative process affecting the entire joint .
Osteoarthritis , especially involving the knee , has a relevant socioeconomic impact in terms of drugs , hospital admissions , work absences , and temporary or permanent invalidity .
Therapy of knee osteoarthritis is based on pharmacological and nonpharmacological measures .