title: Is There a Clinically Meaningful Change in the Blood Pressure of Osteoarthritis Patients with Comorbid Hypertension During the Course of Balneotherapy?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Balneotherapy (BT) is a treatment modality that uses the physical and chemical effects of water, including thermomineral, acratothermal, and acratopegal waters. It has many effects on cardiovascular system.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of 3-week BT on blood pressure of osteoarthritis (OA) patients with no hypertension (HT), and controlled or uncontrolled HT.
  
  
  METHODS
  The OA patients (n = 270) were divided into three groups: No HT, controlled HT, and uncontrolled HT. All the groups received BT in the facilities of our university hospital at the same time every day (10:00-11:30 AM) for 10 min per day, 5 days per week, for a total duration of 15 days in a 3-week period. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures and pulse rates were measured before and after BT on daily basis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, (1) the pulse rates of study groups measured after BT were significantly increased compared to before BT; (2) the systolic blood pressures of study groups measured before and after BT were found as comparable; and (3) the diastolic blood pressures of no HT and controlled HT groups measured before and after BT were not statistically significant (P > 0.05); however, in the uncontrolled HT group, the diastolic blood pressure showed a decreasing trend after BT (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with OA, BT can be safely used without resulting in any meaningful changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressures in patients with normal and controlled HT but a decrease in diastolic blood pressure of patients with uncontrolled HT. This may be an advantage in OA patients having HT as comorbid disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sivas Numune State Hospital, Sivas, Turkey.
authors.forename: Emrullah
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hayta
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas Numune State Hospital, Sivas, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Birhan
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sivas Numune State Hospital, Sivas, Turkey.
authors.forename: İlker
authors.initials: İ
authors.lastname: Yayıkçı
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sivas Numune State Hospital, Sivas, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zafer
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Özer
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sivas Numune State Hospital, Sivas, Turkey.
authors.forename: Özlem
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Şahin
keywords: Balneotherapy (BT); hypertension (HT); osteoarthritis (OA)