Effect Of Balneotherapy On Cardiovascular Function And Mood States In Pilots

Especially, pilot is a special occupational group, which the physical and mentalquality of them is better than the normal population. But the task of training andcombat readiness would have a huge impact on them. It is easy to cause physicaland psychological fatigue, and a serious threat to flight safety. Therefore, it isnecessary to preserve the physical and mental health in pilots.Currently, physiological and psychological training is a common protectiveprocess for maintaining physical and mental health in pilots. The spas factor hasbeen more widely used as an important means convalescent. Its mechanism ofaction covers the areas of physics, chemistry, physiology and clinical medicine.So it is important to study the effect of balneotherapy on cardiovascular functionand mood states in pilots.In the present study, We observed and compared the effects of balneotherapyon cardiovascular function and mood states in pilots during21days. Our aimswere to investigate whether balneotherapy is effective for pilots to improvecardiovascular function and mood states. We explored the role of balneotherapyin adjustment of physical and mental, and for a theoretical foundation to develop convalescent program.The main results and findings of this study were as follows:1.Changes of cardiac function during21d balneotherapy treatmentWe observed and compared changes of heart rate (HR) and arterial bloodpressure during21d in each group. The results showed that in the balneotherapygroup the heart rate were increased, while blood pressure was descended slightly（P<0.01）. The heart rate and systolic blood pressure after swimming weresignificantly increased than those before swimming（P<0.01）. These resultssuggested that swimming can improve the cardiac function.We observed and compared changes of cardiac contraction function during21d in each group. The results showed that in the swimming training group, Leftventricular ejection time(LVET), isovolumetric contraction time(ICT),isovolumetric contraction time/left ventricular ejection time(ICT/LVET) andejection fraction(EF) tended to be increased, pre-ejection period(PEP) andpre-ejection period/left ventricular ejection time(PEP/LVET) tended to bedecreased. In the mineral bath group, ICT and ICT/LVET were increasedsignificantly(P<0.05). These results suggested that swimming as aerobic exerciseenhanced cardiac contractile function compared to the balneotherapy group iseven more significant.We observed and compared changes of cardiac pumping function during21din each group. The results showed that SV, CO and CI had a increasing trend inthe control group, TPR had a downward trend. SV, CO and CI increasedsignificant after exercise in swimming training group, TPR is determined. SV, COand CI showed a descend trend in balneotherapy group, TPR had an upward trend(P <0.05). There are a few change in the control group of each indicators. Theseresults suggested that swimming as aerobic exercise enhanced cardiac contractile function compared to the balneotherapy group is even more significant.We observed and compared changes of heart rate variability during21d ineach group. The results showed that21d treatment lowered the LF/HF significantin balneotherapy group, otherwise LF and LFn in balneotherapy group andswimming training group showed a decreasing, but HF and HFn both showed anincreasing trends in the two groups. Among the three groups, HF and HFn inbalneotherapy group had a significant increase than the control group, LF/HFsignificantly reduced（P<0.05）. These results suggested that balneotherapy andswimming can be enhanced vagal tone, but is more significant in balneotherapygroup, which has an important role in the regulation of autonomic balance.We observed and compared changes of blood pressure variability during21din each group. The results showed that there was no significant change in systolicblood pressure variability low-frequency power before and after exercise, thecontrast between the two groups had no significant differences. These resultssuggested that cardioregulatory is the main factor in cardiovascular regulationduring21d balneotherapy treatment.2. Changes of mood states during21d balneotherapy treatmentWe observed and compared changes of mood states during21d in each group.The results showed that the total scores of POMS in the three groups tended to bedecreased, especially in swimming group and balneotherapy group(P<0.05). Thetotal scores of POMS in the balneotherapy group was significantly lower thanthat in the control group and swimming group(P<0.05). There was difference ofthe total scores of POMS between the control group and swimming group, but itwas not of significant importance. In the balneotherapy group, the mood scores ofTension-Anxiety, Anger-Hostility, Fatigue-Inertia and Confusion-Bewildermentdecreased statistically（P<0.05）. The mood scores of Vigor-Activity significantly elevated（P<0.05）. These results suggested that the negative emotions weaken,the mood states turned better than before, it is more significant in thebalneotherapy group.In conclusion, this study investigated the effects of balneotherapy oncardiovascular function and mood states in pilots. We found that balneotherapytreatment can improve the pilot’s physical and mental state to eliminate theadverse effects during long-term flight. This work in present study provided avaluable basis in development a new scientific and rational pilots recuperationprogram for the future.