Evaluation of the therapeutic and the chemical effects of balneological treatment on clinical and laboratory parameters in knee osteoarthritis: a randomized, controlled, single-blinded trial.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic and the chemical effects of balneological treatment (peloidotherapy + hydrotherapy), and its effects on serum levels of interleukin-1beta (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Sixty-four (64) knee OA patients were randomly divided into study and control groups. Balneological treatment, consisting of hydrotherapy, and peloidotherapy were given to both groups. Unlike the study group, in the control group, the peloid was applied over a stretch film cover, preventing any contact between the skin and peloid. Clinical outcome measures of the study were pain degree, patient's and investigator's global assessment on visual analog scale (VAS-pain, VAS-PGA, VAS-IGA), and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) (pain, stiffness, and physical function). Patients were evaluated at baseline, post-treatment (after 10th session), and 3 and 6 months after treatment. Blood samples were taken at baseline, post- treatment, and 6 months after treatment for analysis of IL-1ß, TNF-α, and IGF-1 serum levels. When compared with the baseline, VAS measurements decreased significantly in almost all evaluation periods in both groups, and no difference was observed between the groups. In the study group, WOMAC scores showed significant improvement in all assessments. In the control group, pain and physical function subscores of WOMAC significantly decreased at post-treatment and 3 months after treatment. In group comparison, pain and stiffness subscores showed a significant difference in favor of the study group at 6 months after treatment. No clinically significant improvement was seen in levels of IL-1ß and IGF-1 in both groups during the whole assessment period. Because of TNF-α kit failure, we could not evaluate the measurements. In conclusion, balneological treatment is an effective treatment option to improve the pain and functional capacity of patients with knee OA. The application of peloid by contact with the skin is superior in the long-term period, which means that in addition to the thermal effect, the chemical content of peloid can also contribute to the therapeutic effect.

Public interest in musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic : Infodemiology study.

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to assess public interest in a wide range of musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: We searched Google Trends for 118 search queries within the United States. We compared two timeframes of 2020 (March 15-July 4 and July 5-October 31) to similar timeframes over the four prior years (2016-2019). RESULTS: In the early pandemic, March 15-July 4, a statistically significant decrease in relative search volume of the majority of queries (60%) was detected, with a significant increase in only 2 queries (i.e. myalgia and toe swelling). In the phase July through October, a statistically significant decrease was detected in only 22% of search queries; there was no difference for 60% of search queries between 2020 and 2016-2019 suggesting a return to their prior levels for most of search queries. Interestingly, the search volume of 18% of search queries (i.e. fatigue, joint pain, muscle pain, myalgia, spondylosis, radiculopathy, myelopathy, neck pain, neck strain, lower back strain, sciatica, shoulder pain, frozen shoulder, elbow pain, lateral epicondylitis, wrist pain, carpal tunnel, hand pain, finger pain, trigger finger, and Morton's neuroma) was significantly increased compared with the four prior years. CONCLUSION: Public interest focused on COVID-19 and sought online information for COVID-19 symptoms in the early pandemic. In the period July through October, there was an upward trend in musculoskeletal symptoms and some colloquial terms/well-known musculoskeletal conditions coupled with a downward trend in general musculoskeletal disorder terms and certain specific diagnoses. This information may help rheumatologists understand public interest in musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders and address the needs of patients to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on outcomes.

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

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.

Spa therapy for elderly: a retrospective study of 239 older patients with osteoarthritis.

Very few studies tested the effectiveness of spa therapy in older patients with osteoarthritis. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of spa therapy in patients aged 65 years and older with generalized, knee, hip, and cervical and lumbar spine osteoarthritis. In an observational retrospective study design at the Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology Department of Istanbul Medical Faculty, we analyzed the records of 239 patients aged over 65 years with the diagnosis of all types of osteoarthritis who were prescribed a spa therapy course in some spa resorts in Turkey between 7 March 2002 and 31 December 2012. They travelled to a spa resort where they stayed at a thermal spa hotel and followed the usual therapy packages for 2 weeks. Patients were assessed by an experienced physician within a week before the spa journey and within a week after the completion of the spa therapy. Compared with baseline in whole sample, statistically significant improvements were observed in pain (visual analog scale, VAS), patient and physician global assessments (VAS), Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index (HAQ-DI), Lequesne algofunctional index (LAFI) for knee, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities index (WOMAC), Waddell disability index (WDI), and Neck Pain and Disability Scale (NPAD). According to Outcome Measures in Rheumatology-Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OMERACT-OARSI) Set of Responder Criteria, responder rate were 63.8 % (51/80) in generalized, 52 % (13/25) in knee, 50 % (2/4) in hip, 66.7 % (8/12) in lumbar, and 100 % (6/6) in cervical osteoarthritis subgroups. Spa therapy improved pain and physical functional status in older patients with osteoarthritis, especially generalized osteoarthritis and multiple joint osteoarthritis with involvement of knee. This improvement was clinically important in majority of the patients. To confirm the results of this preliminary study, there is a need of a randomized controlled clinical study comparing spa therapy with usual care in the elderly population with osteoarthritis.