SPA DOCTOR treats... LOW BACK PAIN
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Low back pain, or lumbago, causes more disability than any other medical condition. Almost all people experience it at some point, regardless of age, gender or occupation. It can be triggered by bad posture, twisting or bending awkwardly or lifting incorrectly.
About 14 months ago I injured my lower back playing tennis. My GP referred me to a physio: I followed my exercises, took painkillers, and thankfully recovered. I am now very careful about what I lift and how I sit. But I want to ensure I won’t be laid low again.
WHERE IS THE SOLUTION?
The Lefay Resort and Spa is an ecospa high above Lake Garda in Italy, and home to the Lefay Spa Method, an East-meets-West combination of ancient Chinese medicine and Western scientific research.
WHAT’S THE TREATMENT?
Popular with British visitors, the spa offers a bespoke postural programme, which aims to relax, revitalise and tone, correct posture and bring about a sense of wellbeing.
Guests are usually prescribed a five-day programme but I had a three-day version, which is pleasantly busy. I see Dr Jader Toja, who is trained in both Chinese and Western medicine.
After asking about my general health and emotional wellbeing, he then assesses my posture and tells me that I am twisted, with one hip further forward than the other.
Exercises will help rectify this. But first I need to relax. Twenty minutes in a warm salt-water ‘lake’ starts the destressing process. Heated to 38 degrees to allow the body to absorb the trace elements and minerals from the marine salt in the water, the lake has a draining, detoxifying and relaxing effect.
Lefay is wonderfully quiet with a mesmerising view of Italy’s largest lake, so it would be difficult not to enter relaxation mode.
Afterwards, an osteopath investigates my full range of movement and prescribes a series of targeted exercises in the gym. Remaining active can help relieve back pain symptoms and speed up recovery.
I also have a series of treatments, ranging from reflexology, a deeptissue massage focusing on the back, and moxibustion – where a heated carbon pencil is held above your most tense areas. It’s blissfully tension-melting.
I finish my stay with perceptibly less stiffness and tension in my back, and many plans for the future. Starting with: relax, do less, move more.
WHAT’S THE COST?
A five-night Lefay spa method postural programme at Lefay Resort and Spa costs from £1,612 per person including treatments, accommodation (double occupancy) and meals.
lefayresorts.com