Comparison of the efficiency of peloidotherapy and extracorporeal shock wave therapies in patients diagnosed with lateral epicondylitis: a prospective, randomized, controlled study.

Various treatment methods are used in the management of lateral epicondylitis (LE); however, there is no universally accepted standard treatment approach. The aim of this study is to compare the effects of peloidotherapy and extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on pain, functional status, and quality of life in the treatment of LE. The study was designed as a hospital-based, prospective randomized controlled trial. Ninety patients, with a mean age of 47.30±7.95 (range, 18 to 65 years), diagnosed with chronic (3 months) unilateral LE were included in the study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. The peloidotherapy group received 15 sessions of peloid therapy for 3 weeks, 5 days a week, while the ESWT group received three sessions of ESWT (1.8 bar, 10.0 Hz, 2000 impulses) for 3 weeks, once a week. The patients were evaluated before treatment, at the end of the treatment, and one month after the treatment. The groups were compared in terms of pain, quality of life, functional status, and handgrip strength. At the end of the treatment and one-month follow-up, statistically significant improvements were observed in all parameters. This study is the first randomized trial comparing peloidotherapy to ESWT as an adjunct to exercise therapy in LE. Both ESWT and peloidotherapy, when added to exercise therapy, showed positive short-term effects on pain, quality of life, functional status, and handgrip strength in primary conservative treatment of chronic LE (p<0.001), and no superiority was found between them in terms of efficacy. Peloidotherapy or ESWT may be preferred in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis, depending on the patient's condition. Peloidotherapy appears to be more advantageous due to its lower side effects and painless nature. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04748406.

Comparison of the short-term efficacy of peloid and paraffin treatments on pain and quality of life in the treatment of plantar fasciitis: a randomized controlled study.

Although peloid, paraffin, and exercise treatments are effective in patients with plantar fasciitis, there had been no comprehensive and comparative studies of these treatments for plantar fasciitis. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of peloid, paraffin, and exercise treatments on pain, functional status, and quality of life in patients with plantar fasciitis. A total of 104 patients, aged 18 years and over, who applied to our clinic with heel pain and were diagnosed with plantar fasciitis according to the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons Clinical Consensus Statement: Diagnosis and Treatment of Adult Acquired Infracalcaneal Heel Pain guideline, with pain at the level of 3 and more severe according to the visual analog scale were randomly divided into three groups: the peloid group (peloid therapy and home exercise), the paraffin group (paraffin therapy and home exercise), and the control group (home exercise). Peloid and paraffin applications were applied 5 days a week, a total of 15 sessions in 3 weeks. Participants were evaluated with the visual analog scale, heel tenderness index, and the foot and ankle outcome score before treatment, after treatment, and at the first month after treatment. Compared to pre-treatment evaluation, significant improvements were observed in all parameters after treatment and at the first month controls in all 3 groups (p < 0.05). In the peloidotherapy and paraffin therapy added groups, pain reduction and quality of life increase were higher than the exercise group (p < 0.05). Adding peloidotherapy or paraffin therapy to the home exercise program in the treatment of plantar fasciitis can further reduce pain and improve quality of life.

Comparison of the effectiveness of peloid and paraffin treatment for symptomatic hand osteoarthritis in women: a single-blind randomized controlled study.

Although peloid and paraffin treatments may have a positive effect in the short term on pain, functional status, hand grip strength, and quality of life in patients with hand osteoarthritis (HOA), there are no comprehensive and comparative studies of these therapies for HOA. The aim of our study was to evaluate the short-term effects of peloid and paraffin treatments in symptomatic HOA patients. Eighty female patients diagnosed with HOA were randomly divided into two equal groups: peloid group (peloid therapy and home exercise) and paraffin group (paraffin therapy and home exercise). Peloid and paraffin applications were performed over 3 weeks for a total of 15 sessions. Patients were evaluated with visual analog scale (VAS)-rest, -activity, and -handgrip for pain, Jamar hand dynamometer for grip strength, Australian/Canadian (AUSCAN) Osteoarthritis Hand Index for function, health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) for physical activity, Beck depression inventory (BDI) for depression, and short form-36 (SF-36) for quality of life. Evaluations were performed before treatment, in the 3rd week, and 1 month after treatment. For all parameters except SF-36, statistically significant improvements were observed in short-term evaluations compared to the baseline in both groups (p = .000). Reductions in HAQ scores in the 3rd week and 1st month (p = .001 and p = .003), and the decrease in BDI scores in the 3rd week (p = .005) was statistically significantly higher in the peloid group. Improvements in some subparameters of the SF-36 were statistically significant in favor of the peloid group. In female patients with HOA, both groups experienced similar positive effects on pain, functional status, and hand grip strength for up to one month, but the peloid group was found to be superior in the short term in terms of physical activity and some quality of life parameters. Peloid therapy can be preferred as a natural and reliable method for symptomatic HOA.

Comparison of the efficacies of peloid therapy and paraffin treatment given as an adjuncts to exercise therapy in patients with hallux rigidus: a randomized, uncontrolled, prospective study.

Although it is thought that peloid and paraffin treatments may have positive effect on pain, functional status, and quality of life in patients with hallux rigidus (HR), there are no comprehensive and comparative studies with a high level of evidence. We aimed to compare peloid and paraffin treatments in symptomatic hallux rigidus patients. A total of 113 patients diagnosed with HR between May 2019 and June 2021 were included in the study. After exclusion criteria, the remaining 90 patients were randomly divided into two groups: the peloid therapy group (peloid therapy + home exercise) and the paraffin therapy group (paraffin therapy + home exercise). Peloid and paraffin treatments were applied for 2 weeks (5 days a week for a total of 10 sessions). Patients were evaluated before treatment, at the end of treatment, and one month after treatment. The groups were compared in terms of pain, functional status, quality of life, and joint range of motion. In the final analysis, 40 patients in each treatment group were compared. Statistically significant improvements were achieved for all parameters at the end of treatment and at follow-up, and the treatments were found to be highly effective. As a result of the comparison, the methods were not found to be superior to each other. The present study is the first randomized study comparing peloid therapy and paraffin therapy given as an adjuncts to exercise therapy. Exercise therapy plus peloid and exercise therapy plus paraffin treatments seem to have similar effects on HR; however, controlled trials are necessary for confirmation of our results.