ReviewNorth American journal of medical sciences2014
Scientific evidence-based effects of hydrotherapy on various systems of the body.
Review in North American journal of medical sciences, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers, 10 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
80 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 280 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative effectiveness of water-based versus land-based rehabilitation in COPD: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The effects of aquatic interventions on emotional and behavioral outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Aerobic Exercise Prescription for Pain Reduction in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Comparison of Therapeutic Effects of Different Rehabilitation Methods on Patients Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Orthopaedic surgery · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of balneotherapy in reducing pain, disability, and depression in patients with Fibromyalgia syndrome: a systematic review with meta-analysis.International journal of biometeorology · 2024Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Water-Based Exercise in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Pooled it
- Water therapies (hydrotherapy, balneotherapy or aqua therapy) for patients with cancer: a systematic review.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2022Pooled it
- Identification of Tools for the Functional and Subjective Assessment of Patients in an Aquatic Environment: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Efficacy of aquatic therapy for neck pain: a systematic review.International journal of biometeorology · 2020Pooled it
- The effect of balneotherapy on pain relief, stiffness, and physical function in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee: a meta-analysis.Clinical rheumatology · 2017Pooled it
- Contrast Heat-Cold Versus Thermoneutral Showering in Trained Combat Sport Athletes: A Randomized Field Trial of Recovery Outcomes.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2026Trial
- The effect of warm saltwater and warm water baths on pain, fatigue, sleep quality, and functional capacity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled studyBMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Trial
- The Impact of Controlled Physical Training with Hydrotherapy on Changes in Swelling and Claudication Distance in Patients with Atherosclerotic Ischemia of the Lower Limbs.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Salivary cortisol levels and stress in adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities participating in the Structured Water Dance Intervention: a randomised controlled crossover trial.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- [Efficacy of hydrotherapy versus gym treatment in primary total knee prosthesis due to osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial].Anales del sistema sanitario de Navarra · 2021Trial
- Impact of naturopathy, yoga, and dietary interventions as adjuvant chemotherapy in the management of stage II and III adenocarcinoma of the colon.International journal of colorectal disease · 2020Trial
- Article
- Hydrotherapy for Overweight and Obesity: A Systematic Review of Anthropometric and Lipid Outcomes.Cureus · 2026Review
- A Parent-Delivered Foot Bath Intervention for Chemotherapy-Related Fatigue in Children with Cancer: A Family-Centered Randomized Controlled Trial.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of Aquatic Therapy on Fatigue, Mobility, Physical Function, and Quality of Life in People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Review
20 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
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The use of water for various treatments (hydrotherapy) is probably as old as mankind. Hydrotherapy is one of the basic methods of treatment widely used in the system of natural medicine, which is also called as water therapy, aquatic therapy, pool therapy, and balneotherapy. Use of water in various forms and in various temperatures can produce different effects on different system of the body. Many studies/reviews reported the effects of hydrotherapy only on very few systems and there is lack of studies/reviews in reporting the evidence-based effects of hydrotherapy on various systems. We performed PubMed and PubMed central search to review relevant articles in English literature based on "effects of hydrotherapy/balneotherapy" on various systems of the body. Based on the available literature this review suggests that the hydrotherapy has a scientific evidence-based effect on various systems of the body.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What 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.