Effects of Balneotherapy on Pulmonary Function and Quality of Life in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

Purpose:

 The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of balneotherapy on pulmonary function and quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods:

 Subjects managed at a chest medical clinic of a medical center in Taipei city were included voluntarily after signing informed consents. The inclusion criteria were age>40, the mild and moderate COPD by GOLD criteria. The 10 subjects in the experimental group received balneotherapy twice per week for 6weeks with regular medical treatment. The balneotherapy included the diaphragmatic breathing(DB), pursed lips breathing(PLB), and walking in the pool of the hot spring. Subjects in the experimental group had a
one-hour instruction by a professional instructor. The 14 subjects in control group received medical treatment without balneotherapy. All subjects received pulmonary function tests and WHOQOL-Bref (Taiwan) questionnaire prior to the operation (pre-test) and 6weeks later (post-test). The experimental group received third measurement at the end of operation for 4weeks (post post-test).The statistical analysis applied in data analysis included percentage, mean, standard deviation, chi-square, Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Friedman analysis of variance by ranks.

Results:

 The results indicated that subjects in the experimental group had improvement in mean of FEV₁% predicted and QOL (p<.05) after balneotherapy, while subjects in the control group did not.

Differences of pulmonary function and quality of life of COPD patients of experimental and control group

	Pre-test (n=10) mean±SD	post-test (n=10) mean±SD	Wilcoxon signed-rank test	P value
PFT
FEV1(%predicted)	63.66±11.29	73.00±20.04	-1.479	.139
WHOQOL-Bref  (Taiwan)
Physical domain	13.09±1.28	15.66±1.35	-2.703	.007**
Psychological domain	12.47±2.74	15.26±1.67	-2.191	.028*
Social domain	13.60±3.41	15.40±1.58	-2.047	.041*
Environmental domain	13.64±2.34	16.04±1.21	-2.429	.015*

Conclusion: The present study implies that balneotherapy were effective in improving pulmonary function and quality of life of patients with mild and moderate COPD. The results of this study could be used as a reference for health professionals in COPD management.