Thermal baths help in the treatment of various illnesses as well as their symptoms. Additionally, they provide mental relaxation amid the hectic pace of everyday life.
What are the forms of spa therapy?
Hydrotherapy, or spa therapy, is part of physiotherapy.
- Hydrotherapy: hot or cold water is used, or in other cases, water with complex chemical compounds.
- Thalassotherapy: bathing in the sea.
- Drinking therapy: drinking water for therapeutic reasons
- Mud baths: mud is applied to the whole body or locally, depending on the condition.
- Sand baths: performed in sea or river sand
- Inhalation therapy
How do thermal baths work and help improve the patient’s health?
The action of thermal baths can be mechanical, thermal, and chemical.
- Mechanical action: the body relaxes due to buoyancy, ease of movement, and improved blood circulation and kidney perfusion due to the hydrostatic pressure of the water.
- Thermal action: hot springs cause muscle relaxation and affect the chronaxie of sensory and motor nerves, while at the same time releasing substances that affect circulation and the exchange of matter.
- Chemical action: mineral substances such as sulphides, ions, salts, arsenic, etc. pass through the human body, either as ions or in molecular form, and have a therapeutic effect. This action is strongly disputed by many scientists.
What are the basic rules that patients should follow before deciding to go to a therapeutic spa?
Is it necessary to consult with their doctor beforehand? A preliminary medical and laboratory examination is necessary for the patient’s safety. The disease must be diagnosed in order to select the most appropriate therapeutic spring for treatment. The areas of the body to be treated are determined exclusively by the doctor.
It is necessary to continue the patient’s medication. Those who decide to visit the thermal springs should be aware that the temperature of the bath depends on age and coexisting diseases.
Vulnerable groups should not bathe in water temperatures above 37 degrees Celsius.
The duration of hydrotherapy is approximately three weeks, 20 to 25 minutes per day, but the doctor is the one who determines this in special cases.
Medical monitoring of the patient should continue throughout the duration of balneotherapy.
For which diseases is hydrotherapy contraindicated?
The attending physician is the one who decides whether someone can undergo hydrotherapy. However, thermalism is not recommended for people suffering from uncompensated heart conditions, e.g. heart failure with edema, coronary insufficiency with angina attacks, recent strokes or hemorrhages regardless of the cause, severe diabetes, cancer, renal, hepatic, and respiratory failure requiring mechanical support.
For which diseases is hydrotherapy recommended?
Hydrotherapy helps treat many diseases, especially rheumatic diseases. Some of the diseases that benefit from balneotherapy include osteoarthritis, gout, extra-articular rheumatism, and certain systemic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. It is also recommended for post-traumatic surgical bone injuries and nephrological diseases involving lithiasis, as well as Thermal springs also help in cases of peripheral diseases of the circulatory system, arteries, and veins, for skin conditions such as eczema and juvenile acne, and for diseases of the upper respiratory system. Finally, balneotherapy also helps those suffering from peripheral nerve diseases, e.g., neuritis.
It is noteworthy that the positive effects of hydrotherapy last for months after the end of treatment, dramatically improving patients’ quality of life.
To what extent can thermal baths help patients cope with their health problems psychologically?
The psychological effect of the baths on patients is very positive, as the baths offer an idyllic setting, good company, rest, and complete relaxation, further contributing to better outcomes for visitors’ illnesses and health. When combined with proper nutrition, exercise, and a therapeutic program, the results can be spectacular.
How do you assess the tourist development of our country’s thermal springs?
Despite the fact that Greece has almost 800 different locations where thermal waters spring forth, only a minority of these springs have significant tourist infrastructure. More than 100 springs are located in Central Greece, Macedonia, and the Peloponnese. Several dozen thermal springs exist in Thessaly, Epirus, and Thrace. The most popular are the thermal springs of Edipsos, Ypati, Methana, Kyllini, and Loutraki. The reason for the limited tourist development in such locations is insufficient advertising, despite the fact that the medical community encourages balneotherapy as an auxiliary means of healing. In order for spa towns to develop, model health facilities need to be created in large hotel complexes, staffed by specialists, so as to attract visitors from all over the world.
What diseases can be treated?
Thermal springs, in combination with medication prescribed by a doctor, promise excellent therapeutic results for numerous diseases. Combined with the natural beauty of the landscapes surrounding most of Greece’s thermal springs, they offer patients complete relaxation and rejuvenation, which further helps to treat their health problems. Each thermal spring has a unique composition, so one spring may be more beneficial for one condition than another. Therefore, patients should research which spring is most effective for their specific conditions.
Below are the diseases for which treatment at thermal spas is recommended.
Cervical syndrome
Cervical syndrome consists of a series of symptoms in and around the neck area. It is mainly caused by repeated and poor neck posture. Due to the muscle-relaxing action of the hot thermal springs, the pain improves and the symptoms may not reappear for quite some time after the completion of the balneotherapy.
Gynecological Conditions
According to research, thermal springs appear to improve many gynecological conditions such as inflammatory conditions of the reproductive organs, leukorrhea, salpingitis, menstrual disorders, menstruation, discomfort after gynecological surgery, vaginitis, vaginitis, and pyeloperitonitis. Thermal baths help gynecological disorders in two ways:
- hot water has a muscle-relaxing effect, thus soothing lower abdominal pain.
- thermal baths, as an escape from everyday life, offer mental peace, since it has been proven that certain gynecological problems are a psychosomatic result of the modern lifestyle and daily stressors.
Cardiovascular problems
Once again, hot water has a relaxing effect on heart function by relaxing the muscles. This relaxation ultimately leads to a drop in blood pressure, which has a positive effect on both the heart and the coronary arteries. The positive effects are evident for quite a long time, especially in older people.
Skin diseases
Hydrotherapy and mud therapy are very helpful in treating skin conditions such as eczema, juvenile acne, psoriasis, local dermatitis, and swelling caused by various factors. The most ideal springs for skin diseases are those containing sulfur. In addition, exposure to the sun reduces the symptoms of skin diseases.
Injuries and degenerative outcomes of wounds
Thermal springs are ideal for recovering from injuries and have particularly beneficial effects on fractures, sprains, and ankylosis of injured limbs. Of course, if the wounds are still open, thermal baths are strictly prohibited. Thermal baths serve as an alternative form of physical therapy for fractures and yield better results than traditional methods. Because the patient is in the water, they are under less stress and, due to the warmth of the water, they relax more, helping the injured limb to recover more quickly.
Migraines and headaches
A person suffering from migraines and headaches can only benefit from thermal baths if they are not caused by an organic condition. In other words, if migraines are caused by stress and poor lifestyle choices, sufferers can relax and benefit greatly from balneotherapy. Calmness can also eliminate headaches caused by mental fatigue in a short period of time.
Sciatica, Low Back Pain, Discopathy
The hot thermal springs are a balm for these specific conditions. The warm water combined with appropriate exercise during balneotherapy has prolonged multiple benefits for the body months after the balneotherapy treatments.
Myalgia
A thermal spring with a high salt content can significantly reduce muscle pain, although the effect is temporary. Balneotherapy helps with myalgia caused by muscle injuries, arthritic conditions, or myopathies. Pain is significantly reduced, albeit temporarily, when the patient visits thermal baths containing high amounts of salts. Balneotherapy is recommended for myalgia resulting from muscle injuries, arthritic conditions, or myopathies.
Nervous system disorders
Thermalism helps treat conditions of the central and peripheral nerves that manifest as myalgia. Some of these conditions include neuralgia, neuritis, and polyneuropathy. Moderate-temperature or normal-temperature mineral springs are most suitable for such cases. The best and fastest recovery from damage requires a combination of balneotherapy and traditional physiotherapy. In the case of strokes, especially if they have left physical disabilities, balneotherapy is most useful.
Urinary tract disorders
Thermal baths are beneficial for urinary tract disorders, but only in cases of stones and colic, and not for systemic disorders such as nephritis. Parallel hydration therapy, i.e., the administration of large amounts of fluids by mouth, is also very important in urinary tract diseases.
Respiratory diseases
For respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma, balneotherapy through inhalation therapy is ideal to complement the medication prescribed by the doctor. According to experts, the substances released from thermal springs during inhalation therapy act as mucolytics, causing abundant expectoration and thus relieving the patient. Sulfurous springs that emit steam are the most suitable.
Obesity
The only way that thermal baths work in this case is through exercise in the water, diet, and the lifestyle followed by those who visit the thermal baths.
Rheumatic diseases
The warm waters of thermal springs have satisfactory results in treating rheumatism, rheumatoid and deforming arthritis, spondylitis, and rickets. Combined with medication and exercise, they reduce pain for a long period of time and relax the joints.
Circulatory disorders
The warm waters of thermal springs have satisfactory results in treating rheumatism, rheumatoid and deforming arthritis, spondylitis, and rickets. Combined with medication and exercise, they reduce pain for a long period of time and relax the joints.
Intestinal disorders
Hydrotherapy mainly helps with constipation. Warm thermal baths relax the muscles and make bowel movements easier. This is why thermal baths are contraindicated for those suffering from diarrhea. The calm environment of thermal baths is also beneficial for cases of spastic colitis.
Below are some of the common misconceptions about thermal springs
- Thermal springs differ from normal springs due to their increased temperature: A thermal spring is not simply a spring with the only difference being its increased temperature. This hot water comes from very deep underground layers and thus contains a number of trace elements and minerals in higher concentrations than a simple natural spring. If a spring ends up containing certain radioactive elements in excessive concentrations as it passes through the soil substrates, it is considered dangerous and is not used.
- Do thermal springs offer a cure for all diseases? Unfortunately, there is no major reliable scientific research examining their benefits to human health, despite their widespread use for thousands of years. Limited scientific evidence suggests that thermal bath therapy helps treat rheumatic diseases, neuroses, and metabolic disorders (e.g., metabolic syndrome, high blood sugar, cholesterol). Reports also indicate benefits for skin conditions, respiratory problems, and gynecological issues, although there is considerable uncertainty regarding exactly how balneotherapy affects these conditions due to a lack of scientific evidence.
- Is hydrotherapy suitable for everyone and are there any special precautions that need to be taken? Hydrotherapy is not suitable for everyone. Those who cannot undergo balneotherapy are people with fever, inflammation with swelling, recent stroke, uncontrolled hypertension or hypotension, serious heart problems, certain types of venous problems, severe anemia or dizziness, uncontrolled thyroid disease, menstruation, advanced pregnancy, diseases that prohibit exercise or exposure to hot environments (e.g., advanced cancer), burns or thermal injuries, as well as young children and babies. Staying in the water should not exceed half an hour and body temperature should be gradually restored (no ice-cold baths immediately afterwards).
- Is the therapeutic effect of thermal baths due to the beneficial salts they contain? The benefits of thermal baths include escape from the daily routine, the beneficial effects of swimming itself, and the muscle-relaxing and vasodilatory action of increased temperature. Inhaling the vapors of hot thermal solutions provides relief for certain respiratory diseases. Research has shown that during thermal bath therapy, levels of inflammation markers, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase are reduced. The reduction of certain inflammatory markers in people undergoing systematic balneotherapy may be related to the concentration of certain beneficial mineral salts and substances in the thermal water. Skin diseases benefit from direct contact with beneficial salts and trace elements from thermal springs, although further research is needed on the action of dissolved salts.
- Is the therapeutic effect of thermal baths superior to that of sea baths? There are no studies comparing the therapeutic effects of the two methods. Both thermal therapy and thalassotherapy offer the benefits of swimming. Seawater also contains salts and trace elements in good proportions that are beneficial to the body. However, the maximum benefit to the body comes from the combination of thalassotherapy and thermal bath therapy.
- Are thermal baths only for the elderly or sick, while sea baths are for everyone? Baths, whether in the sea or in thermal springs, are for everyone regardless of age (except babies) and offer many benefits to healthy people too. Therefore, young healthy people have much to gain from visiting areas with thermal springs and following the example of European citizens from other countries who choose such travel destinations. Unfortunately, in Greece, thermal spa therapy is mistakenly considered by many to be an activity for the elderly and sick, while sea bathing is considered an activity for the young and healthy.
- Can thermal spa therapy replace medical treatment for many diseases? It simply complements the appropriate medication.
- Can thermal baths be enjoyed year-round? It is best to avoid them when the ambient temperature is very high.
- Is immersion in thermal water sufficient for the beneficial effects of balneotherapy to manifest? Simple immersion is not enough to reap the expected benefits. You need to swim in the water for a few minutes because, when swimming in the thermal spring, due to various factors (e.g., buoyancy, hydrostatic pressure, hormone secretion), the body becomes more agile, vasodilation occurs, circulation and respiration are stimulated, and edema is absorbed. In addition, systematic exercise regulates metabolism by treating metabolic disorders.
- Is thermal spa therapy beneficial but not covered by insurance funds? Today, more and more private and public insurance funds cover all or part of the costs of thermal spa therapy.
Source: www.mednutrition.gr
