Therapeutic mud treatment has thermic, mechanical phisiomechanical, hormonal enzymatic, immunomodulatic, stimulatic and bacterial results. Not surprising then tat, beside using therapeutic mud for mediacal purposes, it is also used in body maintenance and body regeneration in many cures. Physiological effect of therapeutic mud treatment is a complex activity, based mostly on a heat treatment.
The ability to keep warm comes from a low thermal conductivity of therapeutic mud, the lack of convection current and its big heat capacity. Overheating within a local tissue increases cells’ metabolism. The ingredients of therapeutic mood pervade through skin accumulating in a horny layer or deeper. Saponsis and humus acid, due to its sorption and replaceable effects, reabsorb from a skin surface useless surfaces of metabolism from farther tissues (such as salt from sweat, fat, cholesterol or urea acid).This sorption and replaceable potential decides abot ant- inflammatory and bacteriostatic effects of therapeutic mud. During the treatment, some mineral and organi8c ingredients from therapeutic mud can be absorbed by blood that influences receptors in a nervous system in ecodermis. This way all the processes leading to indigenious inflammatory focus are started.
Chemical composition of therapeutic mud differs according to its type and the conditions it grew. Its main ingredient is water as well as inorganic ingredients, mineral-salts: magnesium sulfate, potassium sulfate, aluminium , iron, calcium, sodium and silicon compounds. Organic ingredients include not completely decomposited plant ingredients, like for example: lignin, cellulase, bitumins (waxes, resins, asphalts, fats), humin acids (flowoacids, humuns acids, amino acids that are products of plants humificationin special water condition).
These humin acids are most responsible for healing quality of therapeutic mud. They cause hyaluronidase activity and other enzymes to stop, they acivate granulocits function, oligosaccarides connection on cells’ surfaces, create complex connections between different compounds, stop prostaglandin synthesis, sorption and exchange ions with ions of different metals.
Another ingredients of therapeutic mud atre biologiacally active hormon- related substances. Hormonal effects of therapeutic mud mean activating the secretion of ovary hormons as well as adrenal and hypophysis ones. There is also direct activating the secretion of ovary hormones as well as adrenal and hypophysis ones. There is also direct activity of estrogenal substances from therapeutic mud- in its bitumen fraction. Another group includes enzymes, antibiotics and microbiological components: anaerobic and aerobic bacterias and mushrooms.
THERAPEUTIC MUD TREATMENTS
Traditional therapeutic mud treatments are made in a form of a bath or a half- bath, sitting bats, mud wrappings (partial or total), tampons and mud ionophoresis. Despite paraffin, therapeutic mud once applied earlier, cannot be used again, even on the same patient and in the Internet such untrue information still can be found. The pressure of a heavy therapeutic mud during a treatment causes the blood and lymph outflow accompanied by a circuital flow stagnation and while, nudging against human skin, Therapeutic mud causes a massage- like effect. It makes easier to absorb different exudation areas. In a therapeutic bath, human body is kept moveless having no limbs mass that enables a patient to relax and reveal pain.
The series of treatment, according to medical indication, usually include from 10 to 20 curative treatments applied daily or after two days. Each of them takes 10 minutes and it can be prolonged gradually (up to 20- 30 minutes maximally). After the treatment, relaxation is recommended. Before therapeutic mud treatment all chronic inflammatory areas connected with: teeth, palantine, tonsils or sinus must be fully cured as during therapeutic mud treatment they may become active.
Something called a ‘post- bath” reaction often occurs during the first week of the treatment and it makes ailments more severe. Simultaneously, in blood, OB speeding changes, leucocytosis with leucocyte picture shift on the left and migration through mucosa increase can be observed. These are typical symptoms of anti- inflammatory reaction and they usually disappear in the second week of the treatment and later a recovery phase comes.
Based on:
Sobolewska, a., Sztanke, m., parsnip, k.: components and its healing properties. Probably Poland, 2007; 49 (2); 93-98.