Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21751/FRM-38-3-4-1
BALNEOTHERAPY WITH NIN MUD – CHARACTERISTICS OF USERS AND THEIR OPINIONS ON ITS EFFECTIVENESS
Klara Sušac
*
Marija Franka Žuljević
Tonko Vlak
Ana Poljičanin
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The Aim of the Research: The aim was to investigate the general characteristics and satisfaction with the therapy by means of a survey of patients who had undergone balneotherapy with Nin mud. Methods and Subjects: The subjects were patients who underwent balneotherapy in the Nin lagoon in the summer of 2022. Using the painDETECT questionnaire and a survey on demographic characteristics and therapy satisfaction, the results were determined and statistically analyzed in the JASP
v.0.014 program. (JASP Team, 2020, Amsterdam, Netherlands) Results: A total of 109 people took part in the study, including 70 women and 39 men. The most represented patients had lower back pain (76.9%), followed by neck pain (49.1%) and knee or hip osteoarthritis (knee – 29.6%, hip – 16.7%). Patients who already had experience with balneotherapy reported a lower rating of the most severe pain in the last four weeks (45.6% – n=36) compared to first-time patients who rated their most severe pain as
severe (73.3% – n=22). In addition, this group of respondents was found to be more physically active than the Croatian average and those who were physically active during the year had lower ratings of average pain in the last four weeks (n=8, 7.5%) compared to those who were not physically active (n=17, 61.0%). In addition, a large number of subjects with previous balneotherapy experience reported that they reduced their use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs after therapy (74.0%). Almost all were satisfied with the therapy (fully satisfied 50.0%, satisfied 46.2%) and would recommend balneotherapy to others with similar symptoms (98.2%). Discussion/Conclusion: This study provides the first insight into the implementation
of balneotherapy with Nin mud and the respondents’ attitudes towards it. It demonstrates the effectiveness of the therapy in reducing pain and the need for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In addition, there is a correlation between a lower rating of average pain and physical activity. The above conclusions are consistent with recent systematic reviews. Future studies should focus on patients with the same diagnosis and monitor outcomes such as range of motion, morning stiffness, and laboratory parameters to obtain objective conclusions on the efficacy of balneotherapy with Nin mud.
Keywords
balneology, mud therapy, visual analog pain scale, exercise
Hrčak ID:
323101
URI
Publication date:
2.12.2024.
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