Balneotherapy refers to the medical use of mineral-rich spa waters and mud treatments for therapeutic purposes. It involves soaking, bathing, or applying heated mud and water to the body, which can help stimulate blood circulation and treat symptoms of certain diseases like arthritis. Common minerals found in spa waters that may provide benefits include sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, and others. While balneotherapy has shown potential for improving certain rheumatological diseases, more rigorous research is still needed to fully understand its effectiveness.

1. Balneotherapy
Wellness and Spa Service Design and Management
Lika Dumbadze
2015

2. Hydrotherapy
 Hydrotherapy is a part of medicine, in particular of naturopathy, occupational
therapy and physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and
treatment. takes advantage of the physical properties of water, such as
temperature and pressure, for therapeutic purposes, to stimulate blood
circulation and treat the symptoms of certain diseases

3. Balneotherapy
 Balneotherapy (Latin: balneum "bath") is the treatment of disease by bathing,
usually practiced at spas. While it is considered distinct from hydrotherapy
 Balneotherapy may involve hot or cold water, massage through moving water,
relaxation, or stimulation. Many mineral waters at spas are rich in particular
minerals such as silica, sulfur, selenium, and radium. Medicinal clays are also
widely used, which practice is known as 'fangotherapy'.

4. Characteristics
 The term "balneotherapy" is generally applied to everything relating to spa
treatment, including the drinking of waters and the use of hot baths and
natural vapor baths, as well as of the various kinds of mud and sand used
for hot applications.
 Balneotherapy refers to the medical use of these spas, as opposed to
recreational use. Common minerals found in spa waters are sodium,
magnesium, calcium, and iron, as well as arsenic, lithium, potassium,
manganese, bromine, and iodine.
Mud-baths are also included in balneotherapy,
and the dirt and water used to mix mud baths
may also contain minerals which are thought to
have beneficial properties.

5. Treatment of diseases
 Balneotherapy may be recommended for wide range of illnesses, including arthritis,
skin conditions and fibromyalgia, but in heart disease and pregnancy period, can
result in a serious adverse effect.
 Scientific studies into the effectiveness of balneotherapy tend to be neutral or
positive
 However, many of these studies suffer from methodological flaws, and so may not
be entirely reliable
 Also available data suggest that balneotherapy may be truly associated with
improvement in several rheumatological diseases
existing research is not sufficiently strong to draw firm conclusion

6. Thank you

7. References
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balneotherapy
 http://www.physio-pedia.com/Hydrotherapy-Balneotherapy
 http://arthritis-research.com/content/16/4/R141