Additional Therapeutic Effect of Balneotherapy in Low Back Pain Southern Medical Journal, 07/25/2011

Dogan M et al. – The results of the present study reiterate that besides conventional physiotherapy, balneotherapy may be effective in the treatment of patients with chronic low back pain.

• Sixty patients with lumbar spondylosis were included in the study.
• In Group 1, patients received both balneotherapy and physiotherapy and in Group 2, patients received only physiotherapy for three weeks.
• The intensity of the pain was evaluated by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and functional disability was scored according to Revised Oswestry Index (ROI).
• Spinal mobility was assessed by the Schober and lateral flexion tests.
• Variables were evaluated before and after the three weeks of treatment.

• The groups were comparable regarding age (P = 0.970) and sex (P = 0.357)
• There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups for baseline VAS (P = 0.838), Schober test (P = 0.226), and right (P = 0.642) and left (P = 0.674) lateral flexion measurements, and ROI scores (P = 0.798).
• At the end of the therapy, all clinical parameters significantly improved in patients in both of the groups (P < 0.05).
• VAS, Schober test, and ROI scores after the therapy were clearly superior in Group 1 in comparison to Group 2 (P < 0.05).