Objective: To conduct a preliminary investigation of the effects on floatation spa therapy on quality of life in patients with osteoarthritis to see if controlled trials are warranted.
Design: Uncontrolled clinical trial.
Setting: Private floatation spa therapy centre.
Patients: Fourteen patients with chronic osteoarthritis of the weight-bearing joints, of whom four dropped out.
Intervention: Six weekly sessions of floatation spa therapy.
Outcome measures: SF36, AIMS2 and MYMOP quality-of-life questionnaires.
Main results: All patients improved. Differences between baseline and discharge scores showed statistically significant improvement for MYMOP, but not AIMS2 or SF-36.
Conclusions: Controlled trials of floatation spa therapy for patients with osteoarthritis are warranted.