Effect of Siwan Sand Therapy on Pulmonary Functions of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

NCT07287696 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: P.T.REC\012\001198
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 15
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study was to compare between the effects of Siwan sand therapy and physical therapy program on pulmonary function, functional activity, and pain in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Forty five patients were recruited according to the American Rheumatism Association criteria 2010 for the study, fifteen of them had been dropped, the other thirty patients (11 male and 19 female) were assigned into two equal groups: group (A) received Siwan sand therapy inform of sand bath for 5-days, followed by massage with olive oil, while group (B) received physiotherapy for 2-months in form of hot back, TENS, aerobic exercise and strengthening exercise, for the period between June 2016 and August 2019. All patients were evaluated pre-treatment and post treatment

Conditions

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA

Keywords

siwa,traditional therapy ,rheumatoid arthritis,pulmonary function

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Pulmonary function

  Measured by spirometer, pulmonary function test performed for both group before and immediately after intervention, FVC was measured by asking the patient to take deep inspiration and then forcefully expire the air in the mouth piece of spirometer as fast as he could. FEV1 volume of air measured in the first second of forced expiration.

  2 year

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Functional disability

  2 year

• pain severity

  2 year

Interventions

sand therapy OTHER

Patients received sand bathing between 2 pm and 4 pm between the end of May and the first two weeks of September. The atmospheric temperature was 40-45°C, the sand surface temperature ranged from 75 to 82°C and the temperature under the sand surface by 10-20 cm was 50-60°C, measured by an infrared thermometer (Medisana, Germany). A hole of 20-40 cm in depth, 80 cm in width and 100-150 cm in length was dug. A long shallow hole was dug in the early morning to permit the heating of the sand by the sun's rays; after the lying down the patient, he/she was covered to the neck by hot dry sand from the surface of the desert.

physical therapy program OTHER

physical therapy program composed of aerobic and strengthening exercise, TENS and hot application 2 sessions per week for 2 months. Group (B): consisted of 15 patients who were treated by the Siwan traditional program consisting of 5-sessions of sand therapy for 5 days followed by massage with olive oil. Physiotherapy Aerobic exercises in the form of walking on a treadmill, with moderate intensity ranged from 55-65% of target heart rate, according to Karvonen formula {resting heart rate + (maximum heart rate - resting hart rate)55-65%}\[33\]; the patient performed intermittent aerobic exercise for 15-30 min at the first session; they began with 15 min walking and then the duration was increased to reach 30 min; patients began with warming up for 5-minutes, followed by stimulus phase for 5-20 minutes and ended with cooling down for 5-minutes. The patient performed walking as a home program for Two times per week. Moreover, the physiotherapy program involved progressive strengthen

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 25 Years - 59 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Patients were on their stable doses of anti-rheumatic drugs
• Patients with moderate, severe rheumatoid arthritis
• they had positive RF and anti-CCP
• Both sexes participated in this study
• their ages range from 25 to 59 years
• body mass index from 25 to 30
• Pain of at least 3 mm on a visual analogue scale (VAS) from 0 mm (no pain) to 10 mm (worst imaginable pain)
• Patients with (I) complete functional capacity with ability to carry out all usual duties without handicaps, (II) functional capacity adequate to conduct normal activities despite handicap of discomfort or limited mobility of one or more joints, (III) functional capacity adequate to perform only a few or none of the duties of usual occupation or of self-care -

You may not qualify if:

• uncontrolled arterial hypertension \[systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 180 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 100 mm Hg\] 32 (Tanaka and Kazumi, 1990).
• Uncontrolled diabetes,
• Previous renal transplanted patients,
• Patients had coronary artery disease including: unstable angina,
• Pregnant woman's,
• Bleeding disorder,
• Largely or wholly incapacitated with patient bedridden or wheel chair bound, permitting little or no self-care.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ahram Canadian University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University

Giza, 12613, Egypt

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Arthritis, Rheumatoid

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Arthritis; Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases; Connective Tissue Diseases; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases; Autoimmune Diseases; Immune System Diseases

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: lecturer

Model Details: a prospective, randomized, single blind, pre and post-test, clinical trial

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 19, 2025
• First Posted: December 17, 2025
• Study Start: June 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: August 1, 2019
• Study Completion: August 1, 2019
• Last Updated: December 17, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-12

Locations

EG (1)