SynthesisRheumatology international2018
Effects of balneotherapy and spa therapy on quality of life of patients with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Rheumatology international, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 3 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
53 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- Balneotherapy for osteoarthritis: a systematic review.Rheumatology international · 2023Pooled it
- Clinical efficacy of medical hydrology: an umbrella review.International journal of biometeorology · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The effectiveness of a 3-week spa therapy on the 6-month mobility and functional ability of patients with knee osteoarthritis: the ANGELLO randomized controlled trial.International journal of biometeorology · 2025Trial
- Effects on Physical Functioning and Fear of Falling of a 3-Week Balneotherapy Program Alone or Associated with a Physical Activity and Educational Program in Older Adult Fallers: A Randomized-Controlled Trial.Clinical interventions in aging · 2024Trial
- Comparison of outpatient and inpatient spa therapy in knee osteoarthritis.International journal of biometeorology · 2021Trial
- Balneotherapy for musculoskeletal pain: does the mineral content matter?International journal of biometeorology · 2020Trial
- Balneotherapy for knee osteoarthritis in S. Jorge: a randomized controlled trial.International journal of biometeorology · 2020Trial
- The effect of balneotherapy and peloid therapy on changes in the functional state of patients with knee joint osteoarthritis: a randomized, controlled, single-blind pilot study.International journal of biometeorology · 2020Trial
- Effect of balneotherapy on pain and fatigue in elderly with knee osteoarthritis receiving physical therapy: a randomized trial.International journal of biometeorology · 2019Trial
- Balneotherapy, a Complementary Non-pharmacological Approach for Non-Inflammatory Complaints in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Pilot Study.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Trial
- Updated Knowledge on Radon Exposure: Quantification Methods, Health Effects, and Molecular Mechanisms.Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- Impact of Comprehensive Health Resort Treatment on Insomnia and Quality of Life in Older Adults: A Pre-Experimental Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Does the predominance of central sensitization alter the effect of balneotherapy combined with conventional physical therapy in patients with chronic low back and knee pain?International journal of biometeorology · 2026Observational
- Determinants of consumption level among target population in Chinese hot spring medical and long-term care integration with rehabilitation services model and value perception analysis based on the importance-performance analysis framework.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2026Article
- Short-term clinical outcomes associated with local peloid therapy combined with exercise on pain, function, and quality of life in knee osteoarthritis.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Sulfurous thermal waters as nature-based health resources: a public health and sustainability perspective.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Intensive combined balneotherapy and aquatic exercise for knee osteoarthritis: short-term clinical and functional outcomes.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Challenges of blinding in clinical balneology trials: a scoping review.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Article
- COVID-19-Related Discontinuation Impact on Patient-Reported Outcomes in Long-Term Thermal Therapy: A Single-Center Observational Study at Saturnia Thermal Springs.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease which is expected to become one of the leading causes of disability by the next years. This work aims to assess if balneotherapy and spa therapy can significantly improve Quality of Life (QoL) of patients with knee OA. Medline via PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and PEDro were systematically searched for articles about trials involving patients with knee OA and measuring the effects of balneotherapy and spa therapy on study participants' QoL with validated scales. A qualitative and quantitative syntheses were performed. Seventeen studies were considered eligible and included in the systematic review. Fourteen trials reported significant improvements in at least one QoL item after treatment. Ten studies were included in quantitative synthesis. When comparing balneological interventions with standard treatment, results favored the former in terms of long-term overall QoL [ES = - 1.03 (95% CI - 1.66 to - 0.40)]. When comparing balneological interventions with sham interventions, results favored the former in terms of long-term pain improvement [ES = - 0.38 (95% CI - 0.74 to - 0.02)], while no significant difference was found when considering social function [ES = - 0.16 (95% CI - 0.52 to 0.19)]. In conclusion, even though limitations must be considered, evidence shows that BT and spa therapy can significantly improve QoL of patients with knee OA. Moreover, reduction of drug consumption and improvement of algofunctional indexes may be other beneficial effects. Further investigation is needed because of limited available data.
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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.