Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25339582›Full record

ReviewInternational journal of biometeorology2015

Spa therapy: can be a valid option for treating knee osteoarthritis?

Sara Tenti, Sara Cheleschi, Mauro Galeazzi, Antonella Fioravanti

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in International journal of biometeorology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
41citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
13.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

41 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 67 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Clinical efficacy of medical hydrology: an umbrella review.International journal of biometeorology · 2021
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  4. Efficacy of aquatic therapy for neck pain: a systematic review.International journal of biometeorology · 2020
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Sara TentiRheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neurosciences, Policlinico "Le Scotte", University of Siena, Viale Bracci 1, 53100, Siena, Italy.
Sara Cheleschi
Mauro Galeazzi
Antonella Fioravanti
University of Siena · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) continues to be one of the leading causes of 'years lived with disability' worldwide. Symptomatic knee OA is highly prevalent among people aged 50 years and over and is destined to become an ever more important healthcare problem. Current management of knee OA includes non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments. Spa therapy is one of the most commonly used non-pharmacological approaches for OA in many European countries, as well as in Japan and Israel. Despite its long history and popularity, spa treatment is still the subject of debate and its role in modern medicine continues to be unclear. The objective of this review is to summarize the currently available information on clinical effects and mechanisms of action of spa therapy in knee OA. Various randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) were conducted to assess the efficacy and tolerability of balneotherapy and mud-pack therapy in patients with knee OA. Data from these clinical trials support a beneficial effect of spa therapy on pain, function and quality of life in knee OA that lasts over time, until 6-9 months after the treatment. The mechanisms by which immersion in mineral or thermal water or the application of mud alleviate suffering in OA are not fully understood. The net benefit is probably the result of a combination of factors, among which the mechanical, thermal and chemical effects are most prominent. In conclusion, spa therapy seems to have a role in the treatment of knee OA. Additional RCTs and further studies of mechanisms of action with high methodological quality are necessary to prove the effects of spa therapy.

Indexed as

BalneologyHydrotherapyHumansOsteoarthritis, KneeRandomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Identifiers

PMID25339582
OpenAlexW2006876926

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.