Infrared sauna in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis
Clin Rheumatol (2009) 28:29–34 DOI 10.1007/s10067-008-0977-y
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Infrared sauna in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing sp...
Clin Rheumatol (2009) 28:29–34 DOI 10.1007/s10067-008-0977-y
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Infrared sauna in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis A pilot study showing good tolerance, short-term improvement of pain and stiffness, and a trend towards long-term beneficial effects Fredrikus G. J. Oosterveld & Johannes J. Rasker & Mark Floors & Robert Landkroon & Bob van Rennes & Jan Zwijnenberg & Mart A. F. J. van de Laar & Gerard J. Koel
Received: 31 March 2008 / Revised: 1 July 2008 / Accepted: 11 July 2008 / Published online: 7 August 2008 # The Author(s) 2008
Abstract To study the effects of infrared (IR) Sauna, a form of total-body hyperthermia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients were treated for a 4-week period with a series of eight IR treatments. Seventeen RA patients and 17 AS patients were studied. IR was well tolerated, and no adverse effects were reported, no exacerbation of disease. Pain and stiffness decreased clinically, and improvements were statistically significant (p