ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Dry sauna has been very popular as an alternative therapy for promoting health among people who want to improve their health condition without relying on pharmaceuticals. The aim of this study was to investigate whether dry sauna therapy improved quality of life and reduced pain in participants with low back pain.METHODS: Study participants comprised a total of 37 consecutive patients who were over 20 years of age with low back pain. Dry sauna therapy was performed twice per day for 5 consecutive days over the course of 1 week, thus comprising a total of 10 sessions each of 15 min of exposure to a 90℃ dry sauna.RESULTS: The verbal numerical rating scale (VNRS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) scores were significantly reduced after dry sauna therapy (P < 0.001 for both). VNRS pain scores had a median (range) of 5 (2–8) before dry sauna therapy and 3 (0–8) after dry sauna therapy. ODI scores had a median (range) of 12 (2–24) before dry sauna therapy and 8 (1–17) after dry sauna therapy. The proportion of participants who reported successful treatment (excellent + good) was 70%. No adverse effects were observed related to dry sauna therapy.CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that dry sauna therapy may be useful to improve quality of life and reduce pain in patients with low back pain. Therefore, pain physicians can recommend dry sauna therapy as an alternative and complimentary therapy for patients with low back pain.
Subject(s)
Humans , Low Back Pain , Quality of Life , Steam BathABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Allergic rhinitis is a nasal mucosa inflammatory disorder that is induced by exposure to an allergen which results in four major symptoms, including anterior or posterior rhinorrhea, sneezing, nasal itching and nasal congestion. Allergic rhinitis may result in sleep disturbance, fatigue, depression of mood-cognitive function and quality of life impairment.</p><p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>This study examined the efficacy and safety of herbal steam bath used for the reduction of allergic rhinitis symptoms, and evaluated treatment satisfaction and improvements in quality of life among participating patients with allergic rhinitis.</p><p><b>DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTION</b>A single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted at Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine Hospital between June and December 2016, using 64 subjects, equally divided into two groups. The treatment group received herbal steam bath and the control group received steam bath without herbs for 30 min 3 times a week for 4 consecutive weeks.</p><p><b>MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES</b>Allergic rhinitis symptoms, such as itchy nose, runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion and watery eyes, were measured using the visual analog scale at weeks 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4. Quality of life was assessed at week 0 and week 4.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The characteristics (sex, age, marital status, education, allergic rhinitis symptoms and frequency of symptoms) at the baseline were not statistically different (P > 0.05) between the two test groups. Anterior or posterior rhinorrhea symptoms, including sneezing, nasal itching and nasal congestion, were statistically reduced over the course of the treatment, but reductions were not significantly different between the control and treatment groups. The treatment group, however, was shown to be significantly more satisfied with the treatment than the control group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Both treatments appear to be able to significantly reduce the symptoms of allergic rhinitis. However, there was no difference in the effectiveness of steam bath with herbs and steam bath without herbs.</p><p><b>TRIAL REGISTRATION</b>This trial was registered in the Thai Clinical Trial Registry with the identifier TCTR20170712002.</p>
ABSTRACT
This paper summarized the literature about traditional Chinese medicine fumigation treatment for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, lumbar disc herniation, cervical spondylosis, periarthritis of shoulder joint pain diseases. This paper aimed to provide reference for the study of Chinese medicine fumigation treatment of joint pain diseases.