The impact of non-pharmacological treatments for diseases of the locomotor system on the prescribed drug use and lifestyles of the patients in the sanatoria in Busko-Zdroj

Abstract

The article is the result of research on the impact of non-pharmacological therapies for diseases of the locomotor system on the prescribed drug use and lifestyles of the patients of the sanatoria in Busko-Zdroj. The reported research uses primary and secondary measures. The former includes the assessment of the impact of non-pharmacological sanatorium treatments for locomotor system diseases on the use of prescribed drug regimes, while the latter is aimed at assessing the patients’ quality of life. The research was conducted on adult patients of both genders in the sanatoria in Busko-Zdroj. The subjects were patients suffering from disorders of the musculoskeletal system such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and discopathies. The research included two visits, the first at the start of the research and the second at the end of the research. The patients were examined for a period of three consecutive weeks. The study involved 170 patients, 50% of them were women and 50% men.

A decline in the use of painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs makes a very interesting finding. After the first week, as many as 38% of the examined patients limited the use of painkillers and/or anti-inflammatory drugs. After the second week, 62% of the patients reduced the use of the drugs, and after the third week of treatment, up to 90% of the patients did so. The improvement of patients’ lives is noticeable in the psychological, physical and motor fields.