Study on mud and balneotherapy for rheumatoid arthritis

The treatment of balneotherapy for acute rheumatoid arthritis is controversial. This study, conducted in Israel, investigated whether mud packs and sulphur baths are suitable for treating patients with severe acute rheumatoid arthritis.

Based on the fact that there are numerous mineral-rich thermal springs in the region around the Dead Sea and along the Jordan River, 40 patients with classic or acute rheumatoid arthritis were treated with different treatments for two weeks (in addition to their usual medication) in one of the local spa hotels: Group 1 received daily hot mud packs at 42 °C for 20 minutes, Group 2 received daily hot sulphur baths at 37 °C for 20 minutes, Group 3 received both mud packs and sulphur baths, Group 4 served as a control group and only received the usual medication. The patients were examined by a rheumatologist before the start of the study, after the first week of treatment, immediately after completion of the treatments and 1 and 3 months later.

Significant improvements in most symptoms and indices were still evident three months after treatment in the first three groups, while the laboratory values had hardly changed.

The study did not reveal the actual effect of thermal baths. Bathing in thermal spring water causes numerous physiological changes (including muscle tone, joint mobility, pain intensity), but it is not yet clear whether these have an influence on the course of rheumatoid arthritis.

However, the assumption that people suffering from acute rheumatoid arthritis should not receive balneotherapy has not been confirmed: No clinical deteriorations were observed, not even temporary ones.