Balneotherapy for fibromyalgia at the Dead Sea

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of balneotherapy on patients with fibromyalgia (FM) at the Dead Sea. Forty-eight patients with FM were randomly assigned to a treatment group receiving sulfur baths and a control group. All participants stayed for 10 days at a Dead Sea spa. Physical functioning, FM-related symptoms, and tenderness measurements (point count and dolorimetry) were assessed at four time points: prior to arrival at the Dead Sea, after 10 days of treatment, and 1 and 3 months after leaving the spa. Physical functioning and tenderness moderately improved in both groups. With the exception of tenderness threshold, the improvement was especially notable in the treatment group and it persisted even after 3 months. Relief in the severity of FM-related symptoms (pain, fatigue, stiffness, and anxiety) and reduced frequency of symptoms (headache, sleep problems, and subjective joint swelling) were reported in both groups but lasted longer in the treatment group. In conclusion, treatment of FM at the Dead Sea is effective and safe and may become an additional therapeutic modality in FM. Future studies should address the outcome and possible mechanisms of this treatment in FM patients.

Fibromyalgia: a randomised, controlled trial of a treatment programme based on self management

“…Although a number of other studies have recently shown an immediate benefit from FM management programmes that included warm water activities, [28][29][30][31] only two included a follow up evaluation, and only one had a no-intervention control group. In the latter, which allocated 48 patients to either 10 days of balneotherapy or a control group, Buskila et al showed a sustained benefit at 3 months for self assessed pain, fatigue, stiffness, and anxiety.…”

Benefícios da talassoterapia e balneoterapia na fibromialgia

“…Em reumatologia, há relatos de estudos que demonstram os benefícios da talassoterapia e da balneoterapia no tratamento de artrite reumatóide (24,25) , artrite psoriásica (26,27) , espondilite anquilosante (28,29) , osteoartrite (30,31) , algias de coluna (32,33) e FM (16,(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40) . No entanto, evidências científicas não são suficientes para estabelecer, de maneira definitiva, a aparente eficácia da talassoterapia e da balneoterapia em doenças reumáticas.…”

“…Isso realça a necessidade de terapias mais efetivas, no intuito de mais bem atender às demandas de saúde do paciente com FM (6,7) . Apesar de os exercícios aeróbicos serem citados como a intervenção de reabilitação física que promove maior ganho na diminuição do impacto dos sintomas da FM (8,9) , diversas modalidades terapêuticas surgiram como alternativas (terapias manuais, osteopatia, quiropraxia, acupuntura, massagens, ioga, watsu, tai chi, talassoterapia e balneoterapia) que podem contribuir no tratamento da doença (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16) . Terapias em estâncias termais utilizando a balneoterapia e a talassoterapia são freqüentemente utilizadas em vários países da Europa e do Oriente Médio para tratamento da FM, bem como de outras doenças reumáticas, desde muitos anos (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21) .…”

Effects of Japan Sea Proper Water on the growth ofLegionella pneumophila, Escherichia coli, andStaphylococcus aureus

“…In addition, it has been demonstrated that the salt in hot spring water has the effect of raising body temperature for a longer period. Previous studies regarding the effects of balneotherapy in the treatment of some diseases at the Dead Sea have been published (2)(3)(4)(5). Furthermore, we previously demonstrated that hot JSPW bathing had a beneficial influence on human health (6,7).…”