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. 2021 Feb 18;18(4):1965.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041965.

Peloids as Thermotherapeutic Agents

Francisco Maraver  1   2 , Francisco Armijo  1   2 , Miguel Angel Fernandez-Toran  3 , Onica Armijo  4 , Jose Manuel Ejeda  1 , Iciar Vazquez  1   5 , Iluminada Corvillo  2 , Silvia Torres-Piles  6
Affiliations

Peloids as Thermotherapeutic Agents

Francisco Maraver et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

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: clay; instrumental texture; microcrystalline cellulose; mud therapy; peat; peloid; pelotherapy; thermal flow; thermotherapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Origins of the peloids used in medical spas (MSs).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Plots of hardness of the pastes against % water content.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Specific heats of the raw materials (RMs), and specific heats and relaxation times of the raw material–distilled water (RM/DW) formulations.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Heat flows recorded for the RM/DW formulations, distilled water and MS.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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