Comparison of the efficiency of peloidotherapy and combined balneological treatment (hydrotherapy and peloidotherapy) in patients with low back pain, retrospective study

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of peloidotherapy alone and combined balneological treatment (peloidotherapy and hydrotherapy) in the treatment of patients with low back pain. Materials and Methods: Patients who received peloidotherapy and combined balneological treatment (peloidotherapy + hydrotherapy) in our clinic between 2010 and 2019 due to low back pain were included in this retrospective study. Hydrotherapy is applied as head-out immersion in a tap water pool at 36-38°C for 20 minutes and then peloidotherapy is applied as local peloid pack on painful region at 42-43°C for 20 minutes, on each weekday for 2 week. Patients were evaluated before and after the treatment and outcome measurements were pain visual analog scale (VAS), patient's global assessment (VAS), physician's global assessment (VAS), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and Waddell Index (WI). Results: A total of 176 patients with low back pain were analyzed, 34 of whom received peloidotherapy and 142 patients who received peloidotherapy and hydrotherapy. All parameters improved after treatment in both peloidotherapy and peloidotherapy and hydrotherapy groups. No statistically significant difference was found in the evaluation parameters between the groups. Conclusion: The results of the study show that peloidotherapy alone and combined balneological treatment (hydrotherapy and peloidotherapy) have similar effects in the treatment of patients with low back pain. Both treatment methods provide clinical improvement in patients with low back pain and there is no statistically significant difference between them. Randomized controlled studies are required to confirm these results. Key Words: Hydrotherapy; Peloidotherapy; Low Back Pain