What is it about?
This clinical study investigated changes in blood pH during a rehabilitation program involving therapeutic mud and hypersaline lake water at the Techirghiol Balneal and Rehabilitation Sanatorium in Romania. Forty-three patients with degenerative joint conditions or post-traumatic sequelae underwent ten alternating mud and saline bath applications, alongside other rehabilitation treatments. Capillary blood pH was measured at four points during the treatment course. Blood pH remained within physiological limits throughout the study. A statistically significant but physiologically limited increase was observed immediately after the first saline bath. The findings describe acid–base responses during medically supervised balneotherapy.
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Why is it important?
Maintaining acid–base homeostasis is essential for normal physiological function. Understanding how patients respond to therapeutic mud and saline water applications is relevant to the physiological assessment of balneotherapy. This study provides clinical measurements of blood pH before, during, and after a course of balneological treatment. The findings suggest that the investigated applications were not associated with blood pH changes outside physiological limits in this patient group. Although the sample was limited and several rehabilitation interventions were combined, the results provide a basis for further research into physiological responses to peloidotherapy.
Perspectives
As the first author of this study, I wanted to investigate an important physiological aspect of balneotherapy: the response of systemic acid–base balance to therapeutic mud and saline water applications. My clinical experience at the Techirghiol Balneal and Rehabilitation Sanatorium has strengthened my interest in understanding the physiological mechanisms underlying traditional balneological treatments. Looking back at this research, I consider its main contribution to be the documentation of blood pH responses under clinical treatment conditions. Further studies with larger samples and more comprehensive physiological measurements are needed to clarify the interactions between therapeutic peloids, the skin, and systemic homeostasis.
Dr Traian Virgiliu Surdu
Universitatea Ovidius din Constanta
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: INVESTIGATION OF PH VARIATION OF BLOOD DURING PELOIDOTHERAPY, Balneo Research Journal, December 2012, Romanian Association of Balneology,
DOI: 10.12680/balneo.2012.1037.
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