SynthesisMedicine2019
Effectiveness of spa therapy for patients with chronic low back pain: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05342051 (The Effects of Immersion in 42℃ Radon, Natrium, Calcium, Bicarbonate Content Thermal-mineral Water on Chronic Low-back Pain. Controlled, Follow-up Study), which is not on this map. Cited by 23 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.
The Effects of Immersion in 42℃ Radon, Natrium, Calcium, Bicarbonate Content Thermal-mineral Water on Chronic Low-back Pain. Controlled, Follow-up Study
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- In water or on land? A network meta-analysis of aquatic and land-based exercise interventions for pain and disability in chronic lower back pain.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Clinical efficacy of medical hydrology: an umbrella review.International journal of biometeorology · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Clinical efficacy of peloidotherapy on pain, sleep quality, and central sensitization-related symptoms in chronic low back pain: a comparative analysis.International journal of biometeorology · 2026Trial
- Effects of balneotherapy on stress, anxiety, and depression: results of a multicenter randomized controlled trial with six-month follow-up.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Trial
- Effects of complex spa therapy in patients with osteoarthritis of the spine receiving treatments in health resorts in south-eastern Poland.Scientific reports · 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
- A health resort-based intervention reduces insomnia with minimal changes in quality of life in COVID-19 survivors and non-COVID-19 controls.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Relevance of balneotherapy for back pain-a systematic literature review covering the past 5 years.Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2025Review
- The Effect of Eight Weeks of Passive Heat Therapy on Mental Health, Sleep, and Chronic Pain in Persons with Spinal Cord Injury: A Pilot Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Challenges of blinding in clinical balneology trials: a scoping review.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Article
- Health Resort Treatment Improves Functioning and Physical Performance in Long COVID Patients: A Retrospective Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Isometric vs Isotonic Core Stabilization Exercises to Improve Pain and Disability in Patients with Non-specific Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Anesthesiology and pain medicine · 2024Article
- The Impact of Hot Spring Hydrotherapy on Pain Perception and Dysfunction Severity in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2023Article
- Identification of Responders to Balneotherapy among Adults over 60 Years of Age with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Pilot Study with Trajectory Model Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Sulphurous Crenotherapy Is Effective at Reducing Pain and Disability in Overweight/Obese Patients Affected by Chronic Low Back Pain from Spine Osteoarthritis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Evaluation of short-term effects of three passive aquatic interventions on chronic non-specific low back pain: Study protocol for a randomized cross-over clinical trial.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2022Article
- The economic and social value of spa tourism: The case of balneotherapy in Maresme, Spain.PloS one · 2022Article
- The effectiveness of balneotherapy and thermal aquatic exercise in postoperative persistent lumbar pain syndrome.International journal of biometeorology · 2021Article
- Effectiveness of peloid therapy in patients with chronic low back pain: a single-blind controlled study.International journal of biometeorology · 2021Article
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
backgroundLow back pain (LBP) is a major health problem around the world. Two previous meta-analyses showed that the spa therapy has a positive effect on reducing pain among patients with LBP based on studies published before 2006 and studies published between 2006 and 2013. In recent years, more studies reported the effect of spa therapy on treating chronic low back pain (CLBP). Our study aimed to update the meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the effect of spa therapy on treating CLBP and to examine the effect of spa therapy based on different interventions.
methodsPubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched until May 2018 to identify RCTs about spa therapy among patients with CLBP. Summary effect estimates were calculated by using a random-effects model. The quality of each eligible study was evaluated by Jadad checklist.
resultsTwelve studies met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review and were included in meta-analysis. There was a significant decrease in pain based on visual analogue scale (VAS) (mean difference [MD] 16.07, 95% confidence interval [CI] [9.57, 22.57], P < .00001, I = 88%, n = 966), and lumbar spine function in Oswestry disability index (ODI) (MD 7.12, 95% CI [3.77, 10.47], P < .00001, I = 87%, n = 468) comparing spa therapy group to control group. Methodological assessment for included studies showed that the study's quality is associated with lacking blinding.
conclusionThis updated meta-analysis confirmed that spa therapy can benefit pain reliving and improve lumbar spine function among patients with CLBP. Physiotherapy of subgroup analysis indicated that it can improve lumbar spine function. However, these conclusions should be treated with caution due to limited studies. More high-quality RCTs with double-blind design, larger sample size, and longer follow-up should be employed to improve the validity of study results.
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.