Lolita Rapolienė, Justina Raulušonytė, Erika Vasiliauskienė, Diana Šaparnienė, Artūras Razbadauskas, Giedrė Kurienė, Aelita Bredelytė, Inga Dailidienė

Harnessing the distinctive qualities of Lithuanian natural mineral water for SPA services and human health

Abstract Lithuania is rich in natural mineral waters and has a couple of centuries of history of using them for human health. The use of mineral water in medical SPAs has been popular since ancient times and continues to be important as a complement to modern medicine. Medical SPAs aim to achieve various health benefits by employing diverse types of mineral water with unique physicochemical compositions. The composition of mineral water used varies among different countries due to differences in hydrogeologic conditions, temperature, and chemical composition. While many countries have been investigating the properties of mineral water used for therapeutic purposes, scientifically grounded insights about the uniqueness of mineral water in Lithuanian medical SPAs are still limited. This study aims to investigate the physicochemical properties of mineral water used in Lithuanian medical SPAs and to evaluate their potential benefits for human health. To reach the research aim, a quantitative study was conducted in six of the most popular medical SPAs. The research results indicate that the mineral water used in medical SPAs is highly mineralized sodium chloride (salt) mineral water with significant calcium, magnesium, and sulphate levels. The mineral water is safe with regard to the presence of heavy metals. The tested mineral water could be used for the complementary treatment of nervous, rheumatic, skin, respiratory, cardiovascular, and metabolic disorders. 

Doi https://doi.org/10.5200/baltica.2024.2.2

Keywords natural groundwater resources; balneotherapy; application in medical SPA

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