Regulations concerning natural swimming ponds in Europe: considerations on public health issues.

Natural swimming ponds (NSPs) are a new type of recreational water facility characterized by the substitution of traditional disinfection with biodepuration. While this feature meets esthetic desires of users, specific concerns on public health issues have been raised by the scientific community and local authorities. The absence of a European directive applicable to these environments leaves each country without specific and harmonized indications. The present work describes the local/national policy situation, describing adopted parameters and monitoring activities. All documents underline the need for appropriate microbiological analysis and correct water management.

Sanitary conditions of public swimming pools in Amman, Jordan.

This study was carried out in the summer of 2005 and investigated all of active public swimming pools (85 out of 93) in Amman, the capital of Jordan. The aim of this study was to find out if these swimming pools are in compliance with Jordanian Standards for Swimming Pools Water (JS 1562/2004). The pools were surveyed against the water microbial quality and other physicochemical parameters indicated in the standards. Two samples from each pool were collected for microbial analysis and pools monitoring were carried out during the afternoon of the weekends when the pools are most heavily used. The results indicated overall poor compliance with the standards. Compliance of the pools water to the microbial parameters was 56.5%, for residual chlorine 49.4%, for pH 87.7%, water temperature 48.8%, and bathing load 70.6%. The results also indicated that water microbial quality deteriorated with time. Multivariate analysis showed significant association of water contamination with time of sample collection, residual chlorine, water temperature and load of swimmers. The poor compliance was attributed to lack of proper disinfection, staff training, proper maintenance, and timely inspection.

Sanitary conditions of public swimming pools in Amman, Jordan.

This study was carried out in the summer of 2005 and investigated all of active public swimming pools (85 out of 93) in Amman, the capital of Jordan. The aim of this study was to find out if these swimming pools are in compliance with Jordanian Standards for Swimming Pools Water (JS 1562/2004). The pools were surveyed against the water microbial quality and other physicochemical parameters indicated in the standards. Two samples from each pool were collected for microbial analysis and pools monitoring were carried out during the afternoon of the weekends when the pools are most heavily used. The results indicated overall poor compliance with the standards. Compliance of the pools water to the microbial parameters was 56.5%, for residual chlorine 49.4%, for pH 87.7%, water temperature 48.8%, and bathing load 70.6%. The results also indicated that water microbial quality deteriorated with time. Multivariate analysis showed significant association of water contamination with time of sample collection, residual chlorine, water temperature and load of swimmers. The poor compliance was attributed to lack of proper disinfection, staff training, proper maintenance, and timely inspection.

El ejercicio físico en agua caliente reduce el dolor pero no el número de puntos sensibles de mujeres con fibromialgia: un ensayo clínico randomizado / Exercise in warm water decreases pain but no the number of tender points in women with fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial

Introducción: el propósito de este estudio fue evaluar los efectos de 8 meses de ejercicio físico en agua caliente sobre el dolor de mujeres con fibromialgia (FM). Métodos: treinta y tres pacientes fueron distribuidas aleatoriamente en dos grupos: un grupo de ejercicio (n=17), que realizó 3 sesiones semanales de 60 minutos de ejercicio físico; y un grupo de control (n=16), que continuó realizando sus actividades habituales de la vida diaria. El dolor fue evaluado usando las dimensiones de dolor del Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnarie (FIQ) y Short Form 36 (SF-36). También se evaluó el número de puntos gatillo. Resultados: después de 8 meses de ejercicio físico fueron observadas mejoras significativas en el grupo experimental respecto al grupo de control en las dimensiones de “dolor” del FIQ (9%; p=0.040) y “dolor corporal” del SF-36 (58%; p=0.001). El número de puntos sensibles no mostró ningún cambio significativo. Conclusión: ocho meses de ejercicio físico en agua caliente fue un tratamiento efectivo para reducir el dolor en mujeres con FM. Sin embargo, el programa de ejercicio físico no tuvo efectos positivos en la reducción del número de puntos sensibles (AU)

Introduction: the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of 8 months of physical exercise in warm water on pain in female with fibromialgia (FM). Methods: thirty three patients with FM were randomly assigned into two groups: an exercise group (n = 17), who performed 3 weekly sessions for 60 minutes of physical exercise; and a control group (n=16), who continued their habitual daily activities without exercising. The pain was assessed by means of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnarie (FIQ) and the Short Form 36 (SF-36). The number of tender points were also assessed. Results: after 8 months of physical exercise significant improvements in the exercise group were observed compared to the control group in the dimensions of “pain” (FIQ) (9%; p=0.040) and “body pain” (SF-36) (58%; p=0.001). The number tender points did not show any significant change. Conclusion: eight months of physical exercise in warm water was an effective treatment to decrease the pain in women with FM. However, the physical exercise program was not effective in decreasing the number of tender points (AU)