Spa therapy together with supervised self-mobilisation improves pain, function and quality of life in patients with chronic shoulder pain: a single-blind randomised controlled trial.

To determine whether spa therapy has a beneficial effect on pain and disability in patients with chronic shoulder pain, this single-blind randomised controlled clinical trial included patients with chronic shoulder pain due to miscellaneous conditions attending one of four spa centres as outpatients. Patients were randomised into two groups: spa therapy (18 days of standardised treatment combining thermal therapy together with supervised mobilisation in a thermal pool) and controls (spa therapy delayed for 6 months: 'immediate versus delayed treatment' paradigm). All patients continued usual treatments during the 6-month follow-up period.

[Leprosy disclosed by polyarthritis].

Background: We report a case of leprosy observed in a French woman who had lived in Africa 30 years earlier. The clinical presentation was misleading, suggesting connective tissue disease.

Case Report: A 69-year-old woman was hospitalized in April 1996 for inflammatory joint disease.