“”At my age, it’s disabling“, Breaths Laura Becker, 36, in robe in the Saint-Eloy center in Amnéville (Moselle).
Diagnosed COVID LONG in September, the young woman was contaminated for the first time in December 2021, before being then infected six times.
The last time, in September 2024, the symptoms are intense, but above all, it has never recovered, “she told AFP. “”Between October and December, I had all the viruses that dragged. I only had respite or two days and I fell ill, it was an endless cycle“.
Then his doctor, then a rheumatologist, put his finger on this pathology: the long covid.
About 6% of people infected with the COVID suffer this complex syndrome, the World Health Organization said last December. Women and people with previous health problems are more affected. And reinfections seem to increase risks.
Scientists have progressed but not completely elucidated its mechanisms.
To determine whether thermalism helps healing, a pilot study, called “Covidtherm”, was launched several years ago with 200 patients spread over the thermal centers of Vittel-Conrexéville, Nancy Thermal and Amnéville.
The promoter of the study is the Center Hospitalier Regional Universitaire (CHRU) in Nancy. It is funded by the Grand Est region, the ARS of the Grand Est, the Metropolis of the Grand Nancy and the National Council of Thermals (CNETH, organization which represents the sector).
The first patients, like Laura Becker, have just arrived in establishments.
“Hope”
For three weeks, it follows, every other day, a very specific protocol, made up of a hydromassing bath, aquagym type sessions, a massage and a massage shower with a water jet, explains Simon Rudynski, doctor responsible for bringing patients into the study.
For the moment, care provides relaxation to Ms. Becker, who also notes that she “Dort better at night“Since the start of the cure in early June.
But chronic fatigue persists. “”I was sporty, now I hang out when I am not even 40 years old (…) psychologically it’s not easy“, She deplores.
The purpose of these care is “to improve quality of life“Of these patients, underlines Dr. Rudynski. Some, like Ms. Becker, say they are” disabled “in their daily lives for various reasons: chronic fatigue, memory disorders or breath.
Laura Becker also sees “hope” to get out of it. With the study, patients see a doctor three times, five times a physiotherapist coordinator, and also seven times a psychologist.
“Ear”
Some of the patients follow the balneotherapy and the other follows the usual protocol: respiratory physiotherapy and mobilization. The idea is, at the end of the study, to know if thermalism has offered better results than city medicine, so far recommended by the High Authority for Health (HAS).
Patients “have symptoms that are close to other chronic diseases that are treated very well with thermal cure“, as “fatigue, muscle and joint pain, balance loss, difficulties in breathing during effort“, Cites Professor Gisèle Kanny, main investigator of the study.
“”The thermal environment is particularly conducive to finding a form of well-being, well-being“, She believes.
The spa cures, offered in a hundred cities in France, promise to treat various diseases 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 a ear, to see that something is offered to them“Five years after the start of the pandemic, notes Diane Koelbert, a physiotherapist and responsible for care in Amnéville.
For Ms. Becker, it shows “that we are still interested in us“, Even if the COVVI-19 is less present in everyday life.”It gives an additional force to face“The disease.