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Balneological outpatient treatment for patients with knee osteoarthritis; an effective non-drug therapy option in daily routine?

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Abstract

This study aims to compare the effects of balneological treatments applied at consecutive and intermittent sessions without interfering with their daily routine in patients with knee osteoarthritis. This is a randomized, controlled, single-blind clinical trial. Fifty patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis were included. The patients were divided into two groups. All patients were given a total of ten sessions of balneological treatment consisting of hydrotherapy and mud pack therapy. Group 1 received consecutive treatment for 2 weeks, while group 2 received intermittent treatment for 5 weeks. Local peloid packs at 45 °C were applied for 20 min, after a tap water (38 °C) bath. Evaluations were conducted before, after treatment, and at 12th week of post-treatment by Pain (VAS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and Short Form-36 (SF-36). Both balneological treatment regimens of knee osteoarthritis had statistically significant clinical effects as well as effects on the quality of life. Patients’ well-being continued at 3 months, except for joint stiffness (WOMAC), role-emotional (SF-36), and vitality (SF-36) in group 1 and for mental health (SF-36) in both groups. Both patient groups had improved compared to baseline. However, at 3 months after the treatment, the well-being of group 2 was unable to be maintained in terms of role-physical (SF-36) parameter, while the well-being of group 1 was unable to be maintained in terms of pain, WOMAC (pain, physical functions, total), and SF-36 (physical functioning, role-physical, pain, role-emotional, and mental health) variables, compared to data obtained immediately after treatment. Our study suggests that traditional and intermittent balneological therapies have similar efficacy in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

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Abbreviations

OA:

Osteoarthritis

ACR:

American College of Rheumatology

VAS:

Visual analog scale

WOMAC:

Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index

SF-36:

Short Form-36

Group 1:

Consecutive treatment group

Group 2:

İntermittent treatment group

T0:

Evaluations were made before treatment

T1:

Evaluations were made after treatment

T2:

Evaluations were made at 12th Week of post-treatment

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology, İzzet Baysal Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, 14020, Bolu, Turkey

    Kağan Özkuk

  2. Department of Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology, İstanbul Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey

    Hatice Gürdal, Mine Karagülle & Müfit Zeki Karagülle

  3. Department of Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology, Büyükçekmece Public Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey

    Yasemin Barut

  4. Department of Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology, Yüksekİhtisas Training and Research Hospital, Bursa, Turkey

    Rıza Eröksüz

Authors
  1. Kağan Özkuk
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  2. Hatice Gürdal
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  3. Mine Karagülle
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  4. Yasemin Barut
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  5. Rıza Eröksüz
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  6. Müfit Zeki Karagülle
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Correspondence to Kağan Özkuk.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Funding

This study was not funded.

Human and animal right and informed consent

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee (2991/10.12.2009) and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Özkuk, K., Gürdal, H., Karagülle, M. et al. Balneological outpatient treatment for patients with knee osteoarthritis; an effective non-drug therapy option in daily routine?. Int J Biometeorol 61, 719–728 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-016-1250-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-016-1250-8

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