The efficacy of balneotherapy and mud-pack therapy in patients with knee osteoarthritis
rct Grade B 2007
Authors: Evcik, D., Kavuncu, V., Yeter, A., Yigit, I.
Journal: Joint Bone Spine 74 : 60-65
Key Findings
- 80 patients with knee OA randomized to 3 groups: balneotherapy (n=25), mud-pack (n=29), hot-pack control (n=26)
- All treatments: 20 min, once daily, 5×/week, 10 sessions total
- Pain assessed by VAS and WOMAC pain scale
- Functional capacity assessed by WOMAC functional capacity and global index
- Quality of life assessed by Nottingham Health Profile (NHP)
- Both balneotherapy and mud-pack groups showed significant improvement over hot-pack control
Controlled trial comparing balneotherapy, mud-pack therapy, and hot-pack therapy for knee osteoarthritis. 80 patients, 10-session treatment course. Both peat-based interventions (balneotherapy and mud-pack) showed significant improvements in pain, function, and quality of life versus hot-pack control — demonstrating that the chemical component of peat therapy adds benefit beyond heat alone. Listed as TIER 2 in papers-to-find.
knee-OARCTbalneotherapymud-packWOMACVASquality-of-life