Balneotherapy (BT) is a complementary therapy widely used in several rheumatic conditions, however, the evidence in hand osteoarthritis (HOA) is still scarce. The aim of this preliminary study is to retrospectively evaluate the symptomatic effects of a cycle of mud-bath therapy in HOA patients. Two hundred twelve outpatients with primary bilateral HOA treated with 12 daily local mud packs and generalized thermal baths with a sulfurous-arsenical-ferruginous mineral water added to usual treatment were included in the study. Each patient was examined at baseline and at the end of thermal therapy (2 weeks). Primary outcome measures were global spontaneous hand pain on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Functional Index for Hand Osteoarthritis (FIHOA) score; secondary outcomes were handgrip strength, duration of morning stiffness, Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), tolerability and patients’ and physicians’ global impression of treatment efficacy and tolerability. Our results demonstrated that the efficacy of mud-bath therapy was significant in all the assessed parameters at the end of therapy, except for the physical component score of SF-12. The thermal treatment was well tolerated. The patient’s and the physician’s global assessments showed a high level of satisfaction in terms of efficacy and safety. In conclusion, our results may suggest a short-term effectiveness of mud-bath therapy in controlling pain and improving functionality in HOA patients, supporting the role of this treatment as a complementary strategy in the management of HOA; however, further randomized controlled trials with a long-term follow-up are needed.

中文翻译：

---

手部骨关节炎的硫-砷-铁浴疗法：一项回顾性观察研究的结果

浴疗 (BT) 是一种广泛用于多种风湿病的补充疗法，然而，手部骨关节炎 (HOA) 的证据仍然很少。这项初步研究的目的是回顾性评估一个周期的泥浴疗法对 HOA 患者的症状影响。212 名患有原发性双侧 HOA 的门诊患者每天接受 12 次局部泥敷和全身热浴，在常规治疗中加入硫-砷-铁矿泉水。每位患者在基线和热疗结束时（2 周）接受检查。主要结果指标是视觉模拟量表 (VAS) 和手骨关节炎功能指数 (FIHOA) 评分上的整体自发性手部疼痛；次要结果是握力、晨僵持续时间、健康评估问卷 (HAQ)、简表健康调查 (SF-12)、耐受性以及患者和医生对治疗功效和耐受性的总体印象。我们的结果表明，除了 SF-12 的身体成分评分外，泥浴疗法的疗效在治疗结束时的所有评估参数中均显着。热处理耐受性良好。患者和医生的整体评估显示出在有效性和安全性方面的高度满意度。总之，我们的结果可能表明泥浴疗法在控制 HOA 患者的疼痛和改善功能方面具有短期有效性，支持这种治疗作为 HOA 管理的补充策略的作用；然而，还需要进行长期随访的进一步随机对照试验。