Abstract
In our minimized follow-up trial with 137 participants with chronic low back pain, one group of participants received regular outpatient care, and the other group received balneotherapy by immersion in 42℃ thermal-mineral water in addition to regular outpatient care on 15 occasions for 3 weeks. Pain on movement and at rest on the 0–100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry index, the number of participants evaluating the symptoms clinically acceptable (Patient Acceptable Symptom State, PASS) and the EuroQol-5D-5L (EQ-5D-5L) quality of life questionnaire were assessed at basal time (at week 0) and after balneotherapy (at weeks 3 and 12). The VAS pain scores, the Oswestry index, the EQ-5D-5L index and the EQ-VAS significantly improved in the balneotherapy group after treatment at week 3 (p < 0.001) and week 12 (p < 0.001) compared to baseline, with a significant between group difference at week 3 (p < 0.001) and week 12 (p < 0.001). The pain VAS score on movement was 66.82 ± 11.48, 26.69 ± 21.49, and 20.09 ± 23.29 in the balneotherapy group, and 63.67 ± 14.77, 67.35 ± 15.44, and 70.23 ± 18.26 in the control group at the consecutive visits. The PASS increased in both groups at week 3 and week 12 compared to the baseline, with a significant between-group difference at week 3 and week 12 for the balneotherapy group. Our results suggest the therapeutic efficacy of immersion in 42℃ thermal mineral water on chronic low back pain.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05342051.
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Data availability
The data generated during this study are included in this published article. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov repository. The data from participants were collected in paper form. The datasets analysed during the study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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The authors IK Tefner, T Gáti, J Kleiber and K Hodosi received financial research support from Budapest Spas cPlc.
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The trial was organized according to the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. The research was permitted by the Semmelweis University Regional and Institutional Committee of Science and Research Ethics (186/2021) and by the Institutional Committee of Science and Research of the Saint Cosmas Health Centre of Joseph Town.
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Tefner, I.K., Bender, T., Kleiber, J. et al. The effects of immersion in 42℃ radon, natrium, calcium, bicarbonate content thermal-mineral water on chronic low back pain. Controlled, follow-up study. Int J Biometeorol 67, 527–537 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-023-02433-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-023-02433-3