Study on the effect of radon therapy on rheumatism

For chronic rheumatic diseases, current treatment approaches include multimodal concepts that combine pharmacological, physical/physiotherapeutic, occupational therapy and psychological therapies. Rehabilitation programs are used for long-term disease management, with balneotherapy playing a role in many Central European, Southern European and Asian countries. In this study, radon balneotherapy in resort towns was compared with a control intervention in rheumatic patients.

It was a randomized, blinded study with 681 patients in seven resort towns in Germany and Austria. The patients suffered from chronic back pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and/or ankylosing spondylitis, with 146 patients having multiple diagnoses.

Pain reduction (primary target criterion), quality of life, functional performance and medication consumption were examined. The measurements were taken before the start of treatment, after completion of treatment and at three further 3-month intervals. Adverse events were documented. Analyses of covariance with repeated measures for metric endpoints and Fisher's exact test for rates were used to analyze group differences. A two-sided significance level of 5% was set.

By the end of follow-up, radon therapy showed superiority in terms of pain reduction and lower analgesic consumption, but not in terms of quality of life. Functional performance was assessed according to indication. In OA patients, there was a significant benefit of radon therapy up to the 6-month follow-up, but not until the end of the study. In the subgroup of back pain patients and in the smaller groups with inflammatory diseases, there were no significant improvements in functional performance.

The results indicate that radon balneotherapy can have a pain-relieving effect on rheumatic diseases for up to nine months after treatment.