Role of Bicarbonate-Sulphate-Alkaline-Earthy Mineral Water, Bentonite Clay Mud and Manual Somatic Stimulation in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a joint chronic pathology, characterized by pain, functional limitation and swelling. It can be seriously disabling, so identifying effective therapies is fundamental for its management. A suitable therapeutic approach to OA might be thermal medicine, which exploits the benefi...

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Main Authors: Giovanni Barassi, Michelina Delli Bergoli, Maurizio Panunzio, Loris Prosperi, Celeste Marinucci, Giuseppe Luigi Matera, Piero Galasso, Pier Enrico Gallenga
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Romanian Association of Balneology, Editura Balneara 2025-03-01
Series:Balneo and PRM Research Journal
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Online Access:https://bioclima.ro/Balneo779.pdf
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author Giovanni Barassi
Michelina Delli Bergoli
Maurizio Panunzio
Loris Prosperi
Celeste Marinucci
Giuseppe Luigi Matera
Piero Galasso
Pier Enrico Gallenga
author_facet Giovanni Barassi
Michelina Delli Bergoli
Maurizio Panunzio
Loris Prosperi
Celeste Marinucci
Giuseppe Luigi Matera
Piero Galasso
Pier Enrico Gallenga
author_sort Giovanni Barassi
collection DOAJ
description Osteoarthritis (OA) is a joint chronic pathology, characterized by pain, functional limitation and swelling. It can be seriously disabling, so identifying effective therapies is fundamental for its management. A suitable therapeutic approach to OA might be thermal medicine, which exploits the beneficial properties of thermal waters, thermal mud and support techniques like manual therapy; We conducted a pilot retrospective observational study analyzing the data of 87 OA patients (mean age 66 years) who underwent 12 sessions in 2 weeks of an Intensive Thermal Care (ITC) protocol, based on ingestion and inhalation of bicarbonate-sulphate-alkaline-earthy mineral water, local contact application of bentonite clay mud, manual treatment of Key Myofascial Trigger Points performed during inhalations and dedicated hydrokinesitherapy. Patients were assessed before (T0) and after (T1) the protocol through the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) for monitoring pain and through the Postural Biometric Index (PBI) for the evaluation of postural-biomechanical dysfunction; At T1 patients treated showed significant reductions in NPRS and PBI scores; ITC treatment is correlated with improvements in pain and postural-biomechanical dysfunction in OA. Due to the absence of a control group and uneven sampling, further studies possibly with an experimental setting, are needed to confirm or disprove our encouraging findings.
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spelling doaj-art-53ffd80c06664188830edb0e6ad175f32025-08-20T03:07:57ZengRomanian Association of Balneology, Editura BalnearaBalneo and PRM Research Journal2734-84582025-03-0116177910.12680/balneo.2025.779Role of Bicarbonate-Sulphate-Alkaline-Earthy Mineral Water, Bentonite Clay Mud and Manual Somatic Stimulation in the Treatment of OsteoarthritisGiovanni Barassi0Michelina Delli Bergoli1Maurizio Panunzio2Loris Prosperi3Celeste Marinucci4Giuseppe Luigi Matera5Piero Galasso6Pier Enrico Gallenga 7Center for Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation and Re-Education (Ce.Fi.R.R.) venue “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Castelnuovo della Daunia Thermal Medicine Center, Castelnuovo della Daunia, ItalyCastelnuovo della Daunia Thermal Medicine Center, Castelnuovo della Daunia, Italy; Coordinator of the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Department, ASL Foggia, Foggia, ItalyCenter for Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation and Re-Education (Ce.Fi.R.R.) venue “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Castelnuovo della Daunia Thermal Medicine Center, Castelnuovo della Daunia, Italy; Responsible Research Hospital, Campobasso, ItalyCenter for Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation and Re-Education (Ce.Fi.R.R.) venue “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyCenter for Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation and Re-Education (Ce.Fi.R.R.) venue “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyCenter for Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation and Re-Education (Ce.Fi.R.R.) venue “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyCenter for Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation and Re-Education (Ce.Fi.R.R.) venue “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyCenter for Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation and Re-Education (Ce.Fi.R.R.) venue “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyOsteoarthritis (OA) is a joint chronic pathology, characterized by pain, functional limitation and swelling. It can be seriously disabling, so identifying effective therapies is fundamental for its management. A suitable therapeutic approach to OA might be thermal medicine, which exploits the beneficial properties of thermal waters, thermal mud and support techniques like manual therapy; We conducted a pilot retrospective observational study analyzing the data of 87 OA patients (mean age 66 years) who underwent 12 sessions in 2 weeks of an Intensive Thermal Care (ITC) protocol, based on ingestion and inhalation of bicarbonate-sulphate-alkaline-earthy mineral water, local contact application of bentonite clay mud, manual treatment of Key Myofascial Trigger Points performed during inhalations and dedicated hydrokinesitherapy. Patients were assessed before (T0) and after (T1) the protocol through the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) for monitoring pain and through the Postural Biometric Index (PBI) for the evaluation of postural-biomechanical dysfunction; At T1 patients treated showed significant reductions in NPRS and PBI scores; ITC treatment is correlated with improvements in pain and postural-biomechanical dysfunction in OA. Due to the absence of a control group and uneven sampling, further studies possibly with an experimental setting, are needed to confirm or disprove our encouraging findings.https://bioclima.ro/Balneo779.pdfrehabilitationphysical therapybalneotherapymineral watersosteoarthritispainposturechronic diseasesnatural substancesmanual therapy
spellingShingle Giovanni Barassi
Michelina Delli Bergoli
Maurizio Panunzio
Loris Prosperi
Celeste Marinucci
Giuseppe Luigi Matera
Piero Galasso
Pier Enrico Gallenga
Role of Bicarbonate-Sulphate-Alkaline-Earthy Mineral Water, Bentonite Clay Mud and Manual Somatic Stimulation in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis
Balneo and PRM Research Journal
rehabilitation
physical therapy
balneotherapy
mineral waters
osteoarthritis
pain
posture
chronic diseases
natural substances
manual therapy
title Role of Bicarbonate-Sulphate-Alkaline-Earthy Mineral Water, Bentonite Clay Mud and Manual Somatic Stimulation in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis
title_full Role of Bicarbonate-Sulphate-Alkaline-Earthy Mineral Water, Bentonite Clay Mud and Manual Somatic Stimulation in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis
title_fullStr Role of Bicarbonate-Sulphate-Alkaline-Earthy Mineral Water, Bentonite Clay Mud and Manual Somatic Stimulation in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis
title_full_unstemmed Role of Bicarbonate-Sulphate-Alkaline-Earthy Mineral Water, Bentonite Clay Mud and Manual Somatic Stimulation in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis
title_short Role of Bicarbonate-Sulphate-Alkaline-Earthy Mineral Water, Bentonite Clay Mud and Manual Somatic Stimulation in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis
title_sort role of bicarbonate sulphate alkaline earthy mineral water bentonite clay mud and manual somatic stimulation in the treatment of osteoarthritis
topic rehabilitation
physical therapy
balneotherapy
mineral waters
osteoarthritis
pain
posture
chronic diseases
natural substances
manual therapy
url https://bioclima.ro/Balneo779.pdf
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