Peloids as Thermotherapeutic Agents

Francisco Maraver, Francisco Armijo, Miguel Angel Fernandez-Toran, Onica Armijo, Jose Manuel Ejeda, Iciar Vazquez, Iluminada Corvillo and Silvia Torres-Piles
Additional contact information
Francisco Maraver: Medical Hydrology Group, Department of Radiology, Rehabilitation & Physiotherapy, Complutense University of Madrid, Plaza Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Francisco Armijo: Medical Hydrology Group, Department of Radiology, Rehabilitation & Physiotherapy, Complutense University of Madrid, Plaza Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Miguel Angel Fernandez-Toran: Balneario de Cofrentes, Calle Balneario s/n, 46625 Valencia, Spain
Onica Armijo: La Paz University Hospital, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Paseo de la Castellana 261, 28046 Madrid, Spain
Jose Manuel Ejeda: Medical Hydrology Group, Department of Radiology, Rehabilitation & Physiotherapy, Complutense University of Madrid, Plaza Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Iciar Vazquez: Medical Hydrology Group, Department of Radiology, Rehabilitation & Physiotherapy, Complutense University of Madrid, Plaza Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Iluminada Corvillo: Professional School of Medical Hydrology, Complutense University of Madrid, Plaza Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Silvia Torres-Piles: Research Group in Immunophysiology, Department of Medical-Surgical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Extremadura, Avda. Elvas s/n, 06071 Badajoz, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: The use of peloids as heat-providing therapeutic systems dates back to antiquity. Such systems consist of a liquid phase and an organic or inorganic solid phase. The latter facilitates the handling, preparation and stability of the solid–liquid system, modifying its organoleptic and phy-sicochemical properties, and improves its efficacy and tolerance. Peloids enable the application of heat to very specific zones and the release of heat at a given rate. The aims of this work are to study 16 reference peloids used in medical spa centers as thermo-therapeutic agents as well as to propose nine raw materials as a solid phase for the preparation of peloids. The physical properties studied are the centesimal composition, the instrumental texture and the thermal parameters. In conclusion, the peloids of the medical spas studied are used as thermotherapeutic agents in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, especially in knee osteoarthritis and to a lesser extent in back pain and psoriatic arthropathy. The clinical experience in these centers shows that the main effects of the application of their peloids are the reduction of pain, an increase in the joint’s functional capacity and an improvement in the quality of life. As thermotherapeutic agents, all the peloids of the me-dical spas studied and the pastes (raw materials with distilled water) examined showed a heat flow rate of up to four times lower than that shown by the same amount of water. The raw materials studied can be used as solid phases for the preparation of peloids with mineral waters.

Keywords: peloid; thermotherapy; mud therapy; pelotherapy; clay; peat; microcrystalline cellulose; thermal flow; instrumental texture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1965/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1965/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:1965-:d:501173

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().