ABSTRACT
Balneotherapy is defined as a group of treatment modalities using natural remedies. The term also is used to describe complex multimodal interventions for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of (chronic) health conditions. The use of the term rehabilitation also is dual: on one hand it is used for a health strategy to overcome disability and to improve functioning. On the other hand it is defined as a set of measures used in multidisciplinary teams. Thus, the definitions of balneotherapy and rehabilitation are different but have some overlap too. It needs to be discussed, how balneotherpy can be used for rehabilitation of chronic health conditions and what the evidence of the added value is. Secondly, the tradition of comprehensive treatments in health resorts should be analysed using the criteria of rehabilitation measures and also here the added value must be demonstrated.
ABSTRACT
Objective: It has been believed that hot spring bathing has therapeutic effect for certain life style-associated diseases. In addition, medical preventive effect of hot spring bathing to diseases has not been well known. In order to investigate preventive effect for life style associated diseases, we performed an epidemiological study about the relationship between personal habits of hot spring bathing and past history of diseases of aged population over 64 years old in Beppu city, which has the most hot spring fountainheads in the world. Beppu city also bear 10 kinds of spa of all except radioactivity hot spring. Materials and Methods: There are about 35,000 Beppu citizens over 64 years old. We sent the questionnaires to randomly chosen 20,000 people among them, asking the personal history of hot-spring-bathing and disease-history in Nov 2012. We received 11,146 replies filled in Jan 2013. Results: We received filled-out questionnaires from 4,706 men and 6,352 women. Forty-eight percent of the replying participants take a hot spring bath daily. The age distribution of the respondents was comparable admittably to that of all Beppu citizens registered over 64 years old. Age adjusted, hot spring user showed less rate of some diseases. The results showed that daily hot spring bathing was associated with past history of less diseases of some, such as ischemic heart disease, apoplexy, hypertension, bronchial asthma, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal disease, and depression. As for this tendency, the difference was seen among men and women (Figure 1). Moreover, the medical effect of the hot spring had the higher one where a hot spring use period is longer. Conclusion: This observation suggests that daily hot spring bathing contributes to lessen the susceptibility of some of life style associated diseases.
ABSTRACT
<b>Objective: </b>It has been believed that hot spring bathing has therapeutic effect for certain life style-associated diseases. In addition, medical preventive effect of hot spring bathing to diseases has not been well known. In order to investigate preventive effect for life style associated diseases, we performed an epidemiological study about the relationship between personal habits of hot spring bathing and past history of diseases of aged population over 64 years old in Beppu city, which has the most hot spring fountainheads in the world. Beppu city also bear 10 kinds of spa of all except radioactivity hot spring. <BR><b>Materials and Methods: </b>There are about 35,000 Beppu citizens over 64 years old. We sent the questionnaires to randomly chosen 20,000 people among them, asking the personal history of hot-spring-bathing and disease-history in Nov 2012. We received 11,146 replies filled in Jan 2013. <BR><b>Results: </b>We received filled-out questionnaires from 4,706 men and 6,352 women. Forty-eight percent of the replying participants take a hot spring bath daily. The age distribution of the respondents was comparable admittably to that of all Beppu citizens registered over 64 years old. Age adjusted, hot spring user showed less rate of some diseases. The results showed that daily hot spring bathing was associated with past history of less diseases of some, such as ischemic heart disease, apoplexy, hypertension, bronchial asthma, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal disease, and depression. As for this tendency, the difference was seen among men and women (Figure 1). Moreover, the medical effect of the hot spring had the higher one where a hot spring use period is longer.<BR><b>Conclusion:</b> This observation suggests that daily hot spring bathing contributes to lessen the susceptibility of some of life style associated diseases.
ABSTRACT
Balneotherapy is defined as a group of treatment modalities using natural remedies. The term also is used to describe complex multimodal interventions for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of (chronic) health conditions. The use of the term rehabilitation also is dual: on one hand it is used for a health strategy to overcome disability and to improve functioning. On the other hand it is defined as a set of measures used in multidisciplinary teams. Thus, the definitions of balneotherapy and rehabilitation are different but have some overlap too. It needs to be discussed, how balneotherpy can be used for rehabilitation of chronic health conditions and what the evidence of the added value is. Secondly, the tradition of comprehensive treatments in health resorts should be analysed using the criteria of rehabilitation measures and also here the added value must be demonstrated.