Sulphur Thermal Water Improves Blood Lipids But Not Total Anti-oxidant Capacity in Knee Osteoarthritis Patients

Balneotherapy is known to alleviate pain in bone and joint diseases, and many blood parameters were shown to be modified upon thermal water therapy. In our study, we sought to investigate the effect of sulphur thermal water on blood lipids and total anti-oxidant capacity in patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis. Interventions: Patients were selected according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria. Volunteers (13 women, aged 30 to 60 years old) underwent a thermal water cure session of 20 min daily during two weeks in a sulphur water pool of Moulay Yacoub spring. Outcome measures: Patients have ha lipid laboratory tests and total anti-oxidant capacity measured before and after two weeks of thermal water treatment. In this study, we found that sulphur thermal water treatment reduced cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL in patients’ blood; instead, no change was found in their plasma total anti-oxidant capacity. Balneotherapy sessions lead to lowering of blood lipid of patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis. The latter effect could be part of the mechanism of action of thermal water in decreasing disease activity in knee osteoarthritis. On the other hand, blood total anti-oxidant capacity, as measured by our method, does not seem to be of relevance in the pathology of our patients.