SPA DOCTOR treats... PLANTAR FASCIITIS
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Like many whose regular exercise is treadmill-pounding, in my foot I’ve developed plantar fasciitis: inflammation of the connective tissue – or fascia – which can cause heel pain. And as a result of years of sitting in front of a computer, my shoulders are also giving me grief. I’m told by my osteopath that this is also fasciitis.
WHERE’S THE SOLUTION?
The five-star Hotel Tannenhof in St Anton, Austria, has one of the few spas in Europe offering specific treatments for fasciitis. Plus, with its clear mountain air and proximity to forest-studded peaks, it offers all the benefits of Shinrin-Yoku – a Japanese term that means ‘taking in the forest atmosphere’ or ‘forest bathing’, and it has been shown in studies to lower blood pressure and improve the immune function.
WHAT’S THE TREATMENT?
I start with a short hike up a mountain for a session of therapeutic yoga specifically addressing myofasciitis, which is when both the muscle and the fascia are inflamed. Exercising in superbly fresh air overlooking the peaks of other green mountains feels fantastic, providing an uplift for the spirits as a bonus.
Sandy, our instructor, is one of a few European practitioners of Yoga Tune Up, an American system incorporating small rubber balls to exercise the feet and roll out tension in the shoulders as we stretch, twist or flex on top of them.
After this I undergo a hot stone massage using silver quartzite, a type of rock whose medical benefits have been analysed and attested to by the International Academy of Holistic Medicine in Vienna. One of its properties is an ability to help dissolve tension in the fascia.
More than a dozen pieces are heated and placed on my energy centres after being used to gently work on shoulders, back, feet, arms and hands. Granulated quartzite is then rubbed into my feet, considered by naturopaths to be second only to kidneys as a detox site.
It’s all very relaxing, unlike the deep-tissue massage I get next day which works directly on the fascia via deep and sometimes painful manipulation. The discomfort dissolves in a pinescented sauna with a window overlooking forest and mountains.
THE VERDICT
One massage with silver quartzite and a couple of sessions of special yoga will not cure my fasciitis, but I am promised that regular use of the Tune Up balls will do the trick. I can easily use them daily to exercise feet and shoulders, and I have been given a piece of silver quartzite to heat and use to gently massage painful areas.
I still have heel pain after a session on the treadmill, but it is shorter-lived, and my shoulders are feeling tension-free.
In addition, the benefits of all that clean air, forest-gazing and mountain hikes remained with me for ten days afterwards.