Spa and thermal treatments in PRM: The Italian project

Introduction. Over recent years, Italy has seen a significant emergence of rehabilitation treatments at numerous spa resorts, due to several factors (climate, physical/chemical effects of the water, healthy and relaxing environment). The synergism of action established between physical energy, spa therapies and rehabilitation techniques is now so well known that it represents one of the main positive arguments with regard to the benefits of implementing certain rehabilitation programmes in a spa environment. Materials andsituation with regard to Rehabilitation at Italian spa resorts, we have collected some data from them in order to understand the range and types of rehabilitation treatments carried out. Results. We have analysed the data obtained from 43 spa resorts to which a specific questionnaire was sent. The results show that the kinds of conditions most commonly treated are: orthopaedic/rheumatological, neurological, geriatric, pneumological, vascular, urogynaecological, sports and cardiological. Conclusion. With a specialised Rehabilitation Unit, many spa resorts can offer comprehensive rehabilitation treatments, thus being able to assume the role of proper Rehabilitation Centres for their corresponding areas, in conjunction with other rehabilitation facilities, with the possibility of also running rehabilitation programmes in Day Hospitals or hotel residence. In particular cases which do not require continuous healthcare, this setting has always provided a realistic alternative to inappropriate hospitalised rehabilitation. There is a need, however, for rehabilitation treatment to offer the highest guarantees of reliability, quality and specialisation and thus for the therapeutic activity to be carried out by a rehabilitation team that meets the standards required, in close collaboration with the family doctor, the hydrologist and other necessary specialists. To date, in spite of the numerous worthy attempts to qualify and measure the results of the rehabilitation activity with increasingly specific evaluation scales, results once again show that user satisfaction is perhaps one of the most tangible pieces of data.