Balneotherapy (BT) is one of the most commonly used nonpharmacological complementary therapies for different rheumatic diseases in many European countries, as well as in Turkey, Israel and Japan. During the past decade, relevant advances have been achieved to understand the therapeutic effects of BT in some musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of this Special issue entitled “Balneotherapy in Rheumatic Disease” of the International Journal of Biometeorology was to collect new insights about the mechanism of action and the clinical efficacy of BT in rheumatic disorders. The issue includes six Original Articles, three Reviews and three Short Communications investigating the role of balneotherapic modalities in the prevention, cure and rehabilitation, and/or exploring their possible biological effects. In a double-blind, randomized, follow-up study, Király et al. (2019) showed that two different mud packs with similar package and physical properties have a favourable effect on knee pain, physical function and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The efficacy persists until 3 months after the end of the cycle of treatment. The effect of natural factors (mineral water and mud) on changes in the functional state of patients with gonarthrosis was investigated by Varzaityte et al. (2019) confirming the beneficial positive and long-lasting effect of BT in osteoarthritis. Cantista and Maraver (2020) performed a randomized controlled trial in a large sample of patients with knee osteoarthritis treated with 3-week BT intervention. The aims of this study were to identify the possible health benefits (in terms of effects on pain, functionality, emotional and social aspects and quality of life); to assess the clinical relevance of any benefits detected; and to determine if these effects persist. Improvements were often clinical relevant and in most patients persisted 3 months after treatment onset. The randomized clinical trial realized by Rapolienė et al. (2019) aimed to investigating the effects of mineral water with different mineral contents on musculoskeletal pain and related symptoms. The Authors showed that mineral water baths are more beneficial than tap water or no treatment for the improvement of symptoms associated with musculoskeletal diseases. Surprisingly, the total mineral content of the water has no significant influence on the reduction of musculoskeletal pain. The role of the rehabilitation on thermal centers to treat many musculoskeletal disabilities or to recover patients in orthopedic post-surgical period was highlighted by Masiero et al. (2019a, b, 2020) in three different Short Communications. Neck pain is a very frequent, disabling and costly condition; multiple pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions are suggested for its treatment. A Systematic Review was performed by Corvillo et al. (2019) to assess the scientific evidence about the role of the aquatic therapy in the treatment of neck pain. The Authors provided a valuable contribution into this subject showing that treatment of neck pain using different waters and techniques is able to reduce pain and disability, and to improve functional capacity, quality of life, joint mobility, balance, relaxation and mood. Different Authors investigated the complex mechanism of action of mineral waters. In particular, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a small gaseous molecule present in sulfurous mineral waters as its active component, caught great attention due to its potential therapeutic applications. A very interesting contribution comes from Burguera et al. (2019) who showed a reduction of H2S biosynthesis in human cartilage sample from patients with osteoarthritis, supporting the role of sulfurous mineral waters as a valid therapeutic option in this condition. Furthermore, the Review published by Karagülle and Karagülle (2020) showed a number of biological effects of natural sulfurous water drinking (hydropinotherapy) in studies performed in “in vivo” animal models. * Antonella Fioravanti fioravanti7@virgilio.it

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前言：风湿病的浴疗

浴疗 (BT) 是许多欧洲国家以及土耳其、以色列和日本针对不同风湿性疾病最常用的非药物补充疗法之一。在过去的十年中，在了解 BT 在一些肌肉骨骼疾病中的治疗效果方面取得了相关进展。本期《国际生物气象学杂志》题为“风湿性疾病的浴疗法”的特刊旨在收集有关 BT 在风湿性疾病中的作用机制和临床疗效的新见解。本期包括六篇原创文章、三篇评论和三篇简短交流，调查浴疗方式在预防、治疗和康复中的作用，和/或探索它们可能的生物学效应。在一项双盲、随机、随访研究中，基拉利等人。(2019) 表明，具有相似包装和物理特性的两种不同的泥包对膝骨关节炎患者的膝关节疼痛、身体功能和生活质量有良好的影响。疗效持续至治疗周期结束后 3 个月。Varzaityte 等人研究了自然因素（矿泉水和泥浆）对膝关节病患者功能状态变化的影响。(2019) 证实了 BT 在骨关节炎中的有益的积极和持久的作用。Cantista 和 Maraver (2020) 在接受 3 周 BT 干预治疗的膝骨关节炎患者的大样本中进行了一项随机对照试验。本研究的目的是确定可能的健康益处（在对疼痛、功能、情感和社会方面以及生活质量）；评估检测到的任何益处的临床相关性；并确定这些影响是否持续存在。改善通常与临床相关，并且大多数患者在治疗开始后持续 3 个月。Rapolienė 等人实现的随机临床试验。(2019) 旨在研究不同矿物质含量的矿泉水对肌肉骨骼疼痛及相关症状的影响。作者表明，矿泉水浴比自来水或不治疗更有益于改善与肌肉骨骼疾病相关的症状。令人惊讶的是，水中的总矿物质含量对减少肌肉骨骼疼痛没有显着影响。Masiero 等人强调了热中心康复在治疗许多肌肉骨骼残疾或恢复骨科术后患者的作用。(2019a, b, 2020) 在三个不同的短通信中。颈部疼痛是一种非常常见、致残且费用昂贵的疾病；建议对其治疗采取多种药物和非药物干预措施。Corvillo 等人进行了系统评价。(2019) 评估有关水疗在治疗颈部疼痛中作用的科学证据。作者对该主题做出了宝贵贡献，表明使用不同的水和技术治疗颈部疼痛能够减轻疼痛和残疾，并改善功能能力、生活质量、关节活动度、平衡、放松和情绪。不同的作者研究了矿泉水的复杂作用机制。特别是硫化氢 (H2S)，一种存在于含硫矿泉水中的小气态分子，作为其活性成分，因其潜在的治疗应用而备受关注。一个非常有趣的贡献来自 Burguera 等人。（2019 年）谁表明骨关节炎患者的人类软骨样本中 H2S 生物合成减少，支持含硫矿泉水在这种情况下作为有效治疗选择的作用。此外，Karagülle 和 Karagülle（2020 年）发表的评论表明，在“体内”动物模型中进行的研究中，天然含硫水饮用（水疗）具有许多生物学效应。* Antonella Fioravanti fioravanti7@virgilio.it 一种存在于含硫矿泉水中的小气态分子作为其活性成分，因其潜在的治疗应用而备受关注。一个非常有趣的贡献来自 Burguera 等人。（2019 年）谁表明骨关节炎患者的人类软骨样本中 H2S 生物合成减少，支持含硫矿泉水在这种情况下作为有效治疗选择的作用。此外，Karagülle 和 Karagülle（2020 年）发表的评论表明，在“体内”动物模型中进行的研究中，天然含硫水饮用（水疗）具有许多生物学效应。* Antonella Fioravanti fioravanti7@virgilio.it 一种存在于含硫矿泉水中的小气态分子作为其活性成分，因其潜在的治疗应用而备受关注。一个非常有趣的贡献来自 Burguera 等人。（2019 年）谁表明骨关节炎患者的人类软骨样本中 H2S 生物合成减少，支持含硫矿泉水在这种情况下作为有效治疗选择的作用。此外，Karagülle 和 Karagülle（2020 年）发表的评论表明，在“体内”动物模型中进行的研究中，天然含硫水饮用（水疗）具有许多生物学效应。* Antonella Fioravanti fioravanti7@virgilio.it （2019 年）谁表明骨关节炎患者的人类软骨样本中 H2S 生物合成减少，支持含硫矿泉水在这种情况下作为有效治疗选择的作用。此外，Karagülle 和 Karagülle（2020 年）发表的评论表明，在“体内”动物模型中进行的研究中，天然含硫水饮用（水疗）具有许多生物学效应。* Antonella Fioravanti fioravanti7@virgilio.it （2019 年）谁表明骨关节炎患者的人类软骨样本中 H2S 生物合成减少，支持含硫矿泉水在这种情况下作为有效治疗选择的作用。此外，Karagülle 和 Karagülle（2020 年）发表的评论表明，在“体内”动物模型中进行的研究中，天然含硫水饮用（水疗）具有许多生物学效应。* Antonella Fioravanti fioravanti7@virgilio.it Karagülle 和 Karagülle（2020 年）发表的评论表明，在“体内”动物模型中进行的研究中，天然含硫水饮用（水疗）具有许多生物学效应。* Antonella Fioravanti fioravanti7@virgilio.it Karagülle 和 Karagülle（2020 年）发表的评论表明，在“体内”动物模型中进行的研究显示了天然含硫水饮用（水疗）的许多生物学效应。* Antonella Fioravanti fioravanti7@virgilio.it