Articles: balneology.
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Complement Ther Med · Aug 2013
A checklist to assess the quality of reports on spa therapy and balneotherapy trials was developed using the Delphi consensus method: the SPAC checklist.
The purpose of this study was to develop a checklist of items that describes and measures the quality of reports of interventional trials assessing spa therapy. ⋯ This checklist is simple and quick to complete, and should help clinicians and researchers critically appraise the medical and healthcare literature, reviewers assess the quality of reports included in systematic reviews, and researchers plan interventional trials of spa therapy.
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To assess the effect of passive body heating on the sleep patterns of patients with fibromyalgia. ⋯ Passive body heating had a positive effect on the sleep patterns of women with fibromyalgia.
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Clinical rheumatology · Oct 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialThe effect of sulphurous water in patients with osteoarthritis of hand. Double-blind, randomized, controlled follow-up study.
The aim of the study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of sulphurous water in patients with osteoarthritis of the hand. Forty-seven patients with osteoarthritis of the hand were enrolled into the double-blind, randomized, controlled study, satisfying ACR criteria. One group of the patients (n = 24) received balneotherapy, bathing in sulphurous thermal water for 20 min per occasion, 15 times in all during a period of 3 weeks. ⋯ The improvement in quality of life was significant only at the end of the treatment, 6 months later not any longer. The difference between the two groups was significant after 3 months in point of pain and EQVAS. Balneotherapy and within this the sulphurous spa water alone may be effective for the attenuation of pain in patients with hand osteoarthrosis.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of spa therapy in chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled, single-blind, follow-up study.
Effect of thermal water with high mineral content on clinical parameters and quality of life of patients with chronic low back pain was studied. In this randomized controlled, single-blind, follow-up study, 60 patients with chronic low back pain were randomized into two groups. The treatment group received balneotherapy with thermal-mineral water, and the control group bathed in tap water. ⋯ In the treatment group, the mobility of the lumbar spine, the Oswestry index, the VAS scores and the EuroQoL-5D index improved significantly. SF-36 items improved significantly in the treated group compared with baseline except for two parameters. Our study demonstrated the beneficial effect of balneotherapy with thermal mineral versus tap water on clinical parameters, along with improvements in quality of life.