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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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