Monday
27Apr2009
Balneotherapy
“What is balneotherapy?”
Balneotherapy is just another word for therapeutic bathing. Cold showers, hot springs, jet spas … you name it, they’re all forms of balneotherapy.
The word is rooted in the Latin word balneum, which mean “bath”. It some cases, it can also refer to the use of things like sand baths or mud baths.
Studies on water therapy have produced mixed results. Some have found that any “healing” is the result of relaxation and some have found no benefit whatsoever. A few, though, have produced positive results.
A 1995 study, for example found that when patients underwent a 3-week-long combination of both drug and spa treatment for lower back pain, they had “significant” improvement. The improvement was both immediate and long-lasting. In some cases, 6 months later, some patients were still able to manage their pain with fewer medications than before.
Balneotherapy is NOT the miracle cure that some of my natural peers claim it is, though. It may help you feel better and it may help temporarily reduce the symptoms of things like PMS, fibromyalgia, arthritis and Parkinson’s disease but it is most definitely not a cure for any of them.
References:
Constant, F., et al. (1995). Effectiveness of spa therapy in chronic low back pain : a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Rheumatology Publishing.
Balneotherapy is just another word for therapeutic bathing. Cold showers, hot springs, jet spas … you name it, they’re all forms of balneotherapy.
Studies on water therapy have produced mixed results. Some have found that any “healing” is the result of relaxation and some have found no benefit whatsoever. A few, though, have produced positive results.
A 1995 study, for example found that when patients underwent a 3-week-long combination of both drug and spa treatment for lower back pain, they had “significant” improvement. The improvement was both immediate and long-lasting. In some cases, 6 months later, some patients were still able to manage their pain with fewer medications than before.
Balneotherapy is NOT the miracle cure that some of my natural peers claim it is, though. It may help you feel better and it may help temporarily reduce the symptoms of things like PMS, fibromyalgia, arthritis and Parkinson’s disease but it is most definitely not a cure for any of them.
References:
Constant, F., et al. (1995). Effectiveness of spa therapy in chronic low back pain : a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Rheumatology Publishing.
Mon, April 27, 2009
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