Crenobalneotherapy for low back pain: systematic review of clinical trials

Crenobalneotherapy is a treatment commonly used in Europe and Middle East. It uses mineral water sometimes combined with different hydrotherapy techniques. Most patients treated in spa centers suffer from low back pain. The purpose of this work is to identify clinical trials on crenobalneotherapy for low back pain. Publication research was performed on Medline, Cochrane, and PEDRO databases. Clinical trials were analyzed for internal validity, external validity, quality of statistical analysis, and quality of collection of adverse events. We present the best level of evidence. Bibliographic research identified 21 clinical trials and the coauthors added 5 references. The 26 trials represent 2695 patients. Some have good methodological quality and allow considering crenobalneotherapy as a potential treatment for low back pain, even if the role of mineral water remains uncertain. The methodological quality of therapeutic trials should be improved. These trials should be analyzed in the future guidelines on low back pain.