| Title |
Efficacy of balneotherapy on pain, function and quality of life in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
International Journal of Biometeorology, May 2011
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00484-011-0447-0 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Antonella Fioravanti, Chiara Giannitti, Barbara Bellisai, Francesca Iacoponi, Mauro Galeazzi |
| Abstract |
The aims of this study were to evaluate whether balneotherapy with mineral sulphate-bicarbonate-calcium water could determine substantial symptomatic improvement, and to detect any changes in the quality of life (QoL) of patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA). This was a prospective randomized, single blind controlled trial. Sixty outpatients with primary bilateral knee OA, according to ACR criteria, were included in the study and randomized to one of two groups: group I (30 patients) was treated with a daily sulphate-bicarbonate-calcium mineral water bath; group II (30 patients), the control group, continued their regular outpatient care routine. At baseline, after 15 days and after 12 weeks, patients were evaluated by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for spontaneous pain, Lequesne and Womac Index for gonarthrosis, SF-36, Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale (AIMS) and symptomatic drugs consumption. We observed a significant improvement of all parameters at the end of the cycle of balneotherapy which persisted throughout the follow-up period, whereas in the control group no significant differences were noted. This symptomatic effect was confirmed by the significant reduction of symptomatic drugs consumption. The differences between the two groups were significant for all considered parameters already from the 15th day and persisted during follow-up. Tolerability of balneotherapy seemed to be good, with light and transitory side effects. Our results confirm that the beneficial effects of balneotherapy in patients with knee OA last over time, with positive effects on the painful symptomatology, a significant improvement on functional capacities and QoL. Balneotherapy can represent a useful backup to pharmacological treatment of knee OA or a valid alternative for patients who do not tolerate pharmacological treatments. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 2 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 1 | 50% |
| Unknown | 1 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 1 | 50% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 50% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 86 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 85 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 12 | 14% |
| Researcher | 7 | 8% |
| Professor > Associate Professor | 6 | 7% |
| Student > Bachelor | 6 | 7% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 4 | 5% |
| Other | 17 | 20% |
| Unknown | 34 | 40% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 22 | 26% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 10 | 12% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 5 | 6% |
| Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science | 3 | 3% |
| Psychology | 2 | 2% |
| Other | 11 | 13% |
| Unknown | 33 | 38% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 11 February 2013.
All research outputs
#17,679,313
of 22,696,971 outputs
Outputs from International Journal of Biometeorology
#1,051
of 1,287 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#93,980
of 110,293 outputs
Outputs of similar age from International Journal of Biometeorology
#9
of 11 outputs
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