ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of stone spa bathing (Ganban-yoku) and hot-spring bathing on brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in healthy, late middle-aged females. METHODS: The subjects were 13 females (mean age, 47.3 years). The skin and tympanic temperatures, blood pressure, and baPWV were measured before and after stone spa bathing and hot-spring bathing. For the stone spa bathing, the subjects lay down three times for approximately 10 min each time over warm stone beds. RESULTS: Although body weight showed no change after the hot-spring bathing, it significantly increased after the stone spa bathing. The increase was significantly related to the amount of water intake. The skin and tympanic temperatures increased to a smaller degree after the stone spa bathing than after the hot-spring bathing. The diastolic blood pressure decreased to a smaller degree after the stone spa bathing. BaPWV showed no significant change after bathing both in the stone spa and in the hot-spring. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the factors significantly related to the change in baPWV after the stone spa bathing were the changes in skin and tympanic temperatures and habit of smoking, and that after the hot-spring bathing was the change in skin temperature. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that, compared with the hot-spring bathing, stone spa bathing causes less strain on the body. The stone spa bathing and hot-spring bathing showed no marked effect on baPWV. However, there is a possibility that the stone spa bathing may be used as a load for investigating arterial stiffness.
