Medical Hydrology and Balneology: Environmental Aspects

Does balneology still have gynecologic
indications?
Armijo O (1-2) , Corvillo I (2-3) , Lobo S (1) , Sanz C (1) , Castro B (1)
(1) Servicio Ginecología y Obstetricia, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid,, Spain
(2) Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Medical Hydrology, Faculty
of Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
(3) Professional School of Medical Hydrology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad
Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
onica.armijo@gmail.com
There are still some precise and traditional indications for the use of spatreatment
in gynecology, even though they have been reduced or limited by the
extraordinary progress made in exploratory techniques and different medicosurgical
treatments. It also appears that the most recent and varied of these indications,
especially concerning the multiple problems linked to menopause, can be
usefully treated by spa-therapy.
We review the articles published in the last 20 years in pubmed and we find only
34 articles when we introduced the words “balneotherapy” and “gynecology”: most
of the articles talk about water birth. secondly highlight the items covered in the
chronic pelvic pain after a pelvic infection.
If we introduced the key words sterility and balneotherapy we find 73 articles
during the last 20 years. Most of them are about seminal disorders. Others talk
about polycystic ovarian syndrome , or the luteal-phase defect.
We not find more items if we introduce the terms “pelotherapy” or “mudtherapy”
and gynecology .
If we focus our search on the words menopause and balneotherapy, we find
again, only 6 papers.
It is the role of practitioners, well informed of the multiple treatments available
in the centers of hydrotherapy, to make the right choice, at the right moment, and
concerning the right spa-center. Buth perhaps the role of these treatments has become
something anecdotal in the field of gynecology.
Keywords: Balneotherapy, Gynecology, Spa-Treatment, Pelotherapy
Balnea
2012, núm. 6, 329
329
ISBN: 978-84-669-1887-0
978-84-669-3482-4