More and more studies about manual therapies are being published however not so many scientific studies have been performed on spa treatments. Spa is often considered more luxury and less therapeutic by the mainstream medical community. However spa treatments can also have therapeutic effects, which a study published this year in the renowned paper, Rheumatology International show. Rheumatology International is an independent journal reflecting worldwide progress in the research, diagnosis and treatment of the various rheumatic diseases.

The researchers studied the effect of spa treatments on ankylosing spondylitis, previously known as Bechterew’s disease. Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton with variable involvement of peripheral joints as well. Ankylosing spondylitis is a form of chronic, inflammatory arthritis and immune mechanisms are probably involved. It mainly affects the spine and the sacroiliac joint in the pelvis. There is no cure for Ankylosing spondylitis as far as the medical establishment know.

Thirty Ankylosing spondylitis patients attending the Rheumatology Unit of the University of Padova in Italy being treated with TNF inhibitors for at least 3 months were randomized: 15 were prescribed 10 sessions of spa therapy (mud packs and thermal baths) and rehabilitation (exercises in a thermal pool) and the other 15 were considered controls so they did not receive any spa therapy or exercise in a thermal pool. The patients in both groups had been receiving anti-TNF agents for at least three months.

The outcome measures utilized several index for Ankylosing spondylitis and the evaluations were performed in all patients at the entry to the study, at the end of the spa treatment, and after 3 and 6 months. Most of the evaluation indices were significantly improved at the end of the spa treatment, as well as at the 3 and 6 months follow-up assessments. No significant alterations in the evaluation indices were found in the control group, that is, they did not get better scores in the Ankylosing spondylitis index.

The result: “Combined spa therapy and rehabilitation caused a clear, long-term clinical improvement in Ankylosing spondylitis patients being treated with TNF inhibitors. Thermal treatment was found to be well tolerated and none of the patients had disease relapse.”

So next time you go to the spa for a luxury treatment you will probably get some therapeutic medicinal positive side effects as a bonus.

/Patrick

Axial skeleton: the bones along the central axis of an organism: the skull bones, the ossicles of the middle ear, the hyoid bone of the throat, the rib cage, sternum and the vertebral column.)

Sacroiliac joint: Joint between the sacrum and the ileum in the pelvis.

TNF inhibitors: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) promotes an inflammatory response in the body, associated with autoimmune disorders. TNF inhibitors blocks this response but these drugs have severe side effect.