Thermal Rehabilitation of Geriatric Patients

Abstract

While being one of the oldest known treatment methods, thermal medicine has not been acknowledged as much as it deserves by the scientific community. Thermal healthcare includes three steps: care, prevention, and rehabilitation. These are integrated with a new focus on health and well-being, and hundreds of thousands of people will recognize stays at thermal facilities as an option to protect their physical integrity and achieve a well-being status. Hydrotherapy is the use of water in various physical conditions and with different chemical compositions through the implementation of a variety of methods aimed at treating and preventing health problems, as well as at preserving good health. Hydrotherapy should be divided into two parts in consideration of its development as a whole: one of these basically leverages on the physical properties of water, while the other—called, more appropriately, crenotherapy—uses the specific chemical properties of so-called mineral waters. Mineral water-based therapy is, in fact, called crenotherapy (from the Greek krene, which means “source”). Two types of crenotherapy exist—internal and external. Internal crenotherapy occurs via hydropinotherapy (or drinking therapy), irrigations (vaginal, nasal, oral, intestinal, or rectal), and inhalations. Thermal waters can also be used to treat chronic irritations and inflammations of the upper and lower respiratory tract. Thermal inhalation therapies can be administered in a variety of forms and approaches aimed at achieving the desired effects, classified according to a number of factors, including the chemical properties of the used mineral waters, the physical characteristics of the inhaled substances, the features of the appliances, and the dispensing mode. Hydropinotherapy is a treatment approach that uses mineral waters for drinking. The term comes from the Greek hydro (water) and pino (drink). The therapy consists in the intake of specific amounts of liquid at a given temperature and at pre-set time intervals throughout the day. Hydropinotherapy is indicated to treat urinary tract disorders, as well as bowel diseases and general gastroenteric disorders.