Spa treatments won't cure them of long-term Covid, but they could alleviate its symptoms. A study aims to determine the benefits of balneotherapy, a "hope" for a patient "handicapped" on a daily basis by this condition.
"At my age, it's a handicap," sighs Laura Becker, 36, in a bathrobe at the Saint-Eloy Thermal Center in Amnéville (Moselle).
Diagnosed with long Covid in September, the young woman was infected for the first time in December 2021, before being subsequently infected six times.
The last time, in September 2024, the symptoms were intense, but above all, she "never recovered," she confided to AFP. "Between October and December, I had every virus that was going around. I would only have one or two days of respite and then I would get sick again; it was a never-ending cycle."
About 61% of people infected with Covid experience this complex syndrome, the World Health Organization reported last December. Women and people with pre-existing health conditions are more affected. And reinfections appear to increase the risks.
Scientists have made progress but have not fully elucidated its mechanisms.
To determine whether thermalism helps with healing, a pilot study, called "Covidtherm", was launched several years ago with 200 patients spread across the thermal centers of Vittel-Contrexéville, Nancy Thermal and Amnéville.
The study is sponsored by the Nancy Regional University Hospital (CHRU). It is funded by the Grand Est Region, the Grand Est Regional Health Agency (ARS), the Greater Nancy metropolitan area, and the National Council of Thermal Establishments (CNETh), the body representing the sector.
The first patients, like Laura Becker, have just arrived at the facilities.
- " Hope " -
For three weeks, she follows a very specific protocol every other day, consisting of a hydromassage bath, aquagym-type sessions, a massage and a water jet massage shower, explains Simon Rudynski, the doctor responsible for introducing the patients to the study.
For now, the treatment has brought relaxation to Mrs. Becker, who also notes that she "sleeps better at night" since starting the treatment at the beginning of June.
But chronic fatigue persists. "I used to be athletic, now I'm dragging myself along even though I'm not even 40 (...) psychologically it's not easy," she laments.
The goal of this care is to "improve the quality of life" of these patients, emphasizes Dr. Rudynski. Some, like Ms. Becker, say they are "handicapped" in their daily lives for various reasons: chronic fatigue, memory problems, or shortness of breath.
Laura Becker also sees "hope" for recovery. With the study, patients see a doctor three times, a coordinating physiotherapist five times, and a psychologist seven times.
- " Ear " -
Some of the patients undergo balneotherapy, while others follow the usual protocol: respiratory and mobilization physiotherapy. The goal of the study is to determine whether thermal spa therapy provides better results than general medicine, which has been recommended by the French National Health Authority (HAS).
The patients "present symptoms that are similar to other chronic illnesses that are very well treated by spa treatment," such as "fatigue, muscle and joint pain, loss of balance, difficulty breathing during exercise," quotes Professor Gisèle Kanny, the study's principal investigator.
"The thermal environment is particularly conducive to finding a form of well-being and betterment," she believes.
Thermal spa treatments, offered in around a hundred towns in France, promise to cure various illnesses thanks to the supposed benefits of their water.
They are often reimbursed by Social Security, up to two-thirds of their amount.
"People are very happy to have someone listening, to see that we are offering them something," five years after the start of the pandemic, notes Diane Koelbert, physiotherapist and head of care in Amnéville.
For Ms. Becker, this shows "that people are still interested in us," even though Covid-19 is less present in everyday life. "It gives us extra strength to face" the disease.
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