Medical Hydrology and Balneology: Environmental Aspects

Balneary Research in Romania –
a swot analysis
Cinteza D (1)
(1) National Institute of Rehabilitation, Physical Medicine and Balneology,
Bucharest, Romania
delcint@yahoo.com
Background
Balneary cure means a complex therapy, using the action of a bunch of natural
factors from a resort. These factors action individually, influencing the functioning
of a system or an organ, but there is a global unspecific action too, determined by
the human body reactivity and adaptation capacity). That`s why the scientific research
in this area is difficult to conduct. Romania has a complex background into
the field of scientific research of the natural therapeutic factors. There are a lot of
papers to demonstrate the effects and the efficacy the cure factors have on the
human health, but an important part of this scientific work was done more than 20
years ago and it need to be refreshed.
Purpose
The presentation aims to realize a SWOT analysis of the actual Romanian
balneary research, based on a synthesis of over 50 years of medical balneary practice
and medical balneary studies.
Material and methods
The natural factors used in Romania to promote health are various and rich:
therapeutic gases, different mineral waters (carbogaseous, sulphurous, salty etc),
thermal waters, the complex factors from the seaside of the Black Sea, therapeutic
muds, salt mines and caves, and the climacteric factors. The balneary cures can be
for preventive, curative and for rehabilitation purposes. We militate for the development
of a rehabilitation network in the balneary resorts.
The strengths and the opportunities are represented mainly by our scientific
background and by the richness of the cure factors. A baseline of the fundamental
research was just establish 5 years ago, in order to study the physiological and
immunological effects of these natural factors on the human functioning; now, it is
developing, slowly, but quite sure.
There are, of course, a lot of difficulties: to find enthusiastic young physicians to
develop a network of clinical studies into the resorts, to find financial resources, to
assure the best design for these studies. There are also some threats: many balneary
resorts are no more functioning and the sources of therapeutic factors are going to
be destroyed or polluted.
Balnea
2012, núm. 6, 249-250
249
ISBN: 978-84-669-1887-0
978-84-669-3482-4