Comparison of the effects of combined balneological therapy (hydrotherapy+peloidotherapy) and peloidotherapy only in patients with knee osteoarthritis, retrospective study

Objective: To compare and evaluate clinical effectiveness of outpatient peloidotherapy alone and combination outpatient treatment of hydrotherapy and peloidotherapy in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Materials and Methods: We included 326 patients who received peloidotherapy or hydrotherapy and peloidotherapy combination at our clinic between 2010-2019. 83 patients received only peloidotherapy and 243 patients received peloidotherapy with hydrotherapy. Peloidotherapy was applied to one or both knees for 20 minutes at 42-43°C and hydrotherapy was applied as head out immersion in tap water for 20 minutes at 36-38°C. Treatment continued for 10 sessions, 2 weeks. Patients evaluated before and after treatment with VAS(Visual Analog Scala) Pain, VAS Patient's global assessment, VAS Physician's global assessment, HAQ(Health Assessment Questionnaire), WOMAC(Western Ontario and Mcmaster Universities Index) Pain, WOMAC Stiffness, WOMAC Function, WOMAC Total ve Lequesne Knee Index. Results: All parameters improved significantly except HAQ and WOMAC pain in peloidotherapy group after treatment. All parameters improved significantly in combined treatment group after treatment. In the comparison between groups, no significant difference was found except VAS Patient's global assessment and VAS Physician's global assessment. Conclusion: Our study shows that peloidotherapy alone and combination of hydrotherapy and peloidotherapy have clinical efficiany in patients with knee osteoarthritis similarly. Also both treatments cause decent improvements at clinical status. Our results should confirmed with randomized controlled studies. Key Words: Peloidotherapy; Hydrotherapy; Knee Osteoartritis