The effectiveness of balneotherapy in chronic low back pain

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of balneotherapy plus physical therapy versus only physical therapy in patients with chronic low back pain. In this trial, 81 patients with low back pain were followed up in two groups. Patients in group I (n = 44) were treated with physical therapy alone. Patients in group II (n = 37) were treated with balneotherapy in addition to the same physical therapy protocol in group I. Patients in both groups were given a home-based standardized exercise program. The following parameters were measured: visual analog scale (0-10 cm), fingertip-to-floor distance (cm), Oswestry Disability Index, and Short Form 36 quality of life scale. First evaluations were done at the time of enrollment, and second evaluations were done after accomplishment of a 3-week treatment program. There were no significant differences between the two groups for the sociodemographic features. All of the measured parameters improved in both groups. However, improvements in pain, functionality, and quality of life scores were found to be superior in the balneotherapy plus physical therapy group. For the patients with chronic low back pain, balneotherapy plus physical therapy is more effective, compared to physical therapy alone.

Fi̇zi̇k Tedavi̇ Uygulanan Kroni̇k Bel Ağrili Yaşlilarda Balneoterapi̇ni̇n Tedavi̇ye Etki̇si̇: Pi̇lot Çalişma

“…The effectiveness of BT and PT combined has been examined and the positive effects of combined use on pain, physical function and quality of life have been shown. Also in this study, similar results were obtained from Onat et al comparing physical therapy and balneotherapy with physical therapy (23). While the mechanism of action of BT is not exactly known, one explanation may be its application to the whole body including the lumbar region which is the body's center of gravity and is affected by almost all body movements.…”

“…It has been shown that BT is effective on many problems such as pain, physical dysfunction, and (18,19). In recent studies, it has been reported that BT is effective in the treatment of CLBP (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26). In the elderly, research activities into the efficacy and reliability of BT have increased recently.…”

Effectiveness of spa therapy for patients with chronic low back pain

“…[46–52] The length of treatment in most trials was around 3 weeks. [41,42,44–46,48–51] The follow-up efficacy of spa-therapy was observed in 8 trials. [41–45,47,50–52] Most of them reported a significant improvement in pain relief, lumbar flexibility, functional capacity, and quality of life.…”

Does balneotherapy provide additive effects to physical therapy in patients with subacute supraspinatus tendinopathy? A randomized, controlled, single-blind study

“…In the study of Çağlar (2015), in which the additional contributions of balneotherapy to physical therapy in various musculoskeletal diseases were investigated, a higher rate of improvement was found in favor of the group that received balneotherapy in all sub-parameters of the quality of life scales. Also, similar results have been revealed concerning quality of life in balneotherapy studies with regional diseases such as knee osteoarthritis, hand osteoarthritis, chronic low back pain, and hip osteoarthritis (Guillemin et al 1994;Horvath et al 2012;Kesiktaş et al 2012;Kovacs et al 2012;Onat et al 2014, Kovacs et al 2016. However, different results were reported in SF-36 sub-parameters in a two-center study examining balneotherapy in chronic shoulder pain, in which the control group was given TENS and exercise (Tefner et al 2015).…”