Thai Massage to Thermal Baths

Thai massage
Traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda and yoga are the roots of traditional Thai massage. The patient lies on their back, fully clothed, and is treated using acupressure, stretching, tapping and extension techniques, with a holistic focus on the flow of energy. The thumbs, palms, elbows, legs, knees and feet are used. Herbal compresses can be added to the treatment. The session can last up to two and a half hours and leaves the patient feeling relaxed and well. No scientific assessments of its effectiveness are known.

Thalassotherapy
The name of thalassotherapy (Greek thalassa = sea) means it is necessarily tied to the seashore. Quite simply, it is “healing treatment through the sea,” practised as far back as ancient Greece and rediscovered in 19th-century France. Since the 1960s, France has been the world centre for thalassotherapy.

Since then, treatments have expanded beyond the original use of seawater alone to include complementary therapies such as seaweed and mud packs, mud baths and climate therapy. Stress reduction and strengthening the immune and cardiovascular systems, as well as treating rheumatic, skin and intestinal diseases, are among the many proven effects of thalassotherapy. Its treatment centre should be no more than 500 metres from the beach. Iodine intolerance, open wounds, asthma and high blood pressure are contraindications to thalassotherapy.

Thermal baths
The baths of Roman times, which shaped the daily lives of citizens, are proverbial. Today, water from depths of several thousand metres and with a temperature above 20°C may be classified as thermal water. A thermal bath—that is, immersing the whole body in warm water—has a relaxing, pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effect simply through its warmth. The health benefits are enhanced by the water’s varying mineral composition.

The following mineral springs are distinguished by their principal constituents and their effects on specific ailments: sodium, potassium and magnesium chloride (chronic diseases, rheumatism); iron (anaemia, exhaustion); calcium and magnesium hydrogen carbonate (catarrh, allergies); calcium sulphate (urinary tract disorders); iodine (arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure); radioactive springs (rheumatism); and sulphur springs (rheumatism, cardiovascular diseases).

Photo: Karin Eckert