ReviewRheumatology international2005
Hydrotherapy, balneotherapy, and spa treatment in pain management.
Review in Rheumatology international, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 103 papers, 17 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
103 citing papers in PubMed, 17 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Evidence-based balneotherapy in Hungary. Updated systematic review and meta-analysis of the Hungarian clinical trials.International journal of biometeorology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of aquatic exercise on pain and physical function in overweight/obese patients with lower limb osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Spa therapy and peripheral serotonin and dopamine function: a systematic review.International journal of biometeorology · 2024Pooled it
- Balneotherapy for chronic venous insufficiency.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Overall treatment effects of aquatic physical therapy in knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2022Pooled it
- Sleep and spa therapies: What is the role of balneotherapy associated with exercise? A systematic review.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy of aquatic therapy for neck pain: a systematic review.International journal of biometeorology · 2020Pooled it
- Effectiveness of spa therapy for patients with chronic low back pain: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Balneotherapy for chronic venous insufficiency.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- The role of mineral elements and other chemical compounds used in balneology: data from double-blind randomized clinical trials.International journal of biometeorology · 2017Pooled it
- Balneotherapy (or spa therapy) for rheumatoid arthritis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Aquatic exercise training for fibromyalgia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Therapeutic benefit of balneotherapy and hydrotherapy in the management of fibromyalgia syndrome: a qualitative systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Arthritis research & therapy · 2014Pooled it
- Evidence-based hydro- and balneotherapy in Hungary--a systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of biometeorology · 2014Pooled it
- Effectiveness of aquatic exercise and balneotherapy: a summary of systematic reviews based on randomized controlled trials of water immersion therapies.Journal of epidemiology · 2010Pooled it
- Qualitative systemic review of randomized controlled trials on complementary and alternative medicine treatments in fibromyalgia.Rheumatology international · 2009Pooled it
- Physiotherapy interventions for ankylosing spondylitis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2008Pooled it
- Evaluation of the therapeutic and the chemical effects of balneological treatment on clinical and laboratory parameters in knee osteoarthritis: a randomized, controlled, single-blinded trial.International journal of biometeorology · 2022Trial
- Effects of balneological outpatient treatment on clinical parameters and serum cytokine levels in patients with chronic low back pain: a single-blind randomized controlled trial.International journal of biometeorology · 2021Trial
- Paraffin bath therapy in De Quervain's tenosynovitis: a single-blind randomized controlled trial.International journal of biometeorology · 2021Trial
43 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The use of water for medical treatment is probably as old as mankind. Until the middle of the last century, spa treatment, including hydrotherapy and balneotherapy, remained popular but went into decline especially in the Anglo-Saxon world with the development of effective analgesics. However, no analgesic, regardless of its potency, is capable of eliminating pain, and reports of life-threatening adverse reactions to the use of these drugs led to renewed interest in spa therapy. Because of methodologic difficulties and lack of research funding, the effects of 'water treatments' in the relief of pain have rarely been subjected to rigorous assessment by randomised, controlled trials. It is our opinion that the three therapeutic modalities must be considered separately, and this was done in the present paper. In addition, we review the research on the mechanism of action and cost effectiveness of such treatments and examine what research might be useful in the future.
Indexed as
Identifiers
15257412What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.