Efficacy of baths with mineral-medicinal water in patients with fibromyalgia: a randomized clinical trial

Abstract

The layout of this study, designed as a randomized crossover clinical trial, is to evaluate the efficacy of an intervention with mineral-medicinal water from As Burgas (Ourense) in patients suffering from fibromyalgia. This sample was randomly divided into two groups: group A and group B. In phase 1, group A had 14 baths in thermal water for a month and standard pharmacological treatment; group B, standard pharmacological treatment. Washout period is 3\xa0months. In phase 2, group A had standard treatment and group B had 14 baths in thermal water for a month plus standard treatment. The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) was used; this grades the impact of the illness from 1 (minimum) to 10 (maximum), which was measured in both phases. Twenty-five patients were included in each group and the study was concluded with 20 patients in group A and 20 in group B. The intervention group obtained, once the baths finished, a mean score of 60.3 (±\u200911.8) and the control group of 70.8 (±\u200913.0) (p\u2009<\u20090.001). Three months later, the intervention group presented a mean score of 64.4 (±\u200910.6) and the control group of 5.0 (±\u200911.3) (p\u2009<\u20090.001). We can therefore conclude that the simple baths with mineral-medicinal water from As Burgas can make an improvement on the impact caused by fibromyalgia.