Mud pack is placed on the back of a woman

Study on lumbago treatment with Dead Sea mud packs

Mahmoud Abu-Shakra et al.

September 2014

Back pain

Fango treatment

There is currently no curative therapy for chronic back pain (lumbago). For this reason, alternative and complementary therapies are widely used for treatment.

The study investigated how effective compresses with Dead Sea mud are when patients treat them at home.

The study, which was supervised by the Soroka University Hospital in Israel, involved 46 patients suffering from lumbago. The participants in one group were given mineral-rich mud compresses, while the second group received compresses from which the minerals had been removed. The compresses were treated five times a week for three weeks.

First and foremost,the patients' perception of the reduction in pain intensity wasdetermined; in addition, the Ronald & Morris questionnaire was evaluated.

Only the patients in the first group reported a significant reduction in pain intensity. After the end of the treatment period, there were also clinical improvements that could still be observed one month later. The evaluation of the Roland & Morris questionnaires revealed significant improvements in both groups.

These results suggest that the mineral-rich compresses with Dead Sea mud have a pain-relieving effect. However, whether this effect is related to the mineral content cannot be determined on the basis of this study.

The most important information on the study at a glance

Indications: Lumbago
Institution: Department of Internal Medicine D, Soroka University Medical Center and Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
Title: Study on lumbago treatment with mud packs from the Dead Sea
Brief description: The study shows that mineral-rich compresses with mud from the Dead Sea have a pain-relieving effect on lumbago.
Original title: Dead Sea mud packs for chronic low back pain
Link to the study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25351016/