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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Tuina Intervention in Sodium Monoiodoacetate Injection-Induced Rat Model of Knee Osteoarthritis

Tuina Intervention in Sodium Monoiodoacetate Injection-Induced Rat Model of Knee Osteoarthritis

Published on: January 12, 2024

Balneotherapy for osteoarthritis.

A P Verhagen¹, S M A Bierma-Zeinstra, M Boers

¹Erasmus MC University Medical Centre, Dept of General Practice, PO Box 1738, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 3000 DR. a.verhagen@erasmusmc.nl

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

|October 19, 2007

Summary

Balneotherapy, or spa treatment, shows silver-level evidence for improving pain and quality of life in osteoarthritis patients compared to no treatment. However, overall evidence quality is weak due to methodological limitations.

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Area of Science:

Rheumatology
Complementary Medicine

Background:

Balneotherapy, an ancient therapy involving mineral baths, aims to alleviate pain and improve well-being in arthritis patients.
This review focuses on osteoarthritis (OA), a common degenerative joint disease.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the effectiveness of balneotherapy for managing osteoarthritis (OA).

Main Methods:

A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted, searching multiple databases up to October 2006.
Seven RCTs involving 498 patients diagnosed with OA were included.
Data extraction and quality assessment were performed independently by two authors.

Main Results:

Silver-level evidence supports the beneficial effects of mineral baths on pain, quality of life, and reduced analgesic intake compared to no treatment.

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Last Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Tuina Intervention in Sodium Monoiodoacetate Injection-Induced Rat Model of Knee Osteoarthritis

Tuina Intervention in Sodium Monoiodoacetate Injection-Induced Rat Model of Knee Osteoarthritis

Published on: January 12, 2024

Specific treatments like Dead Sea + sulphur baths showed short-term benefits for pain and function, but these were not sustained at follow-up.

No significant differences were found for Dead Sea baths or sulphur baths alone compared to no treatment or placebo baths.

Conclusions:

Mineral baths demonstrate beneficial effects for OA patients, supported by silver-level evidence.
Other balneological treatments showed no clear benefits.
The overall scientific evidence is limited by poor methodological quality and inadequate data presentation, warranting cautious interpretation of findings.