SPA DOCTOR treats... BRUXISM
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? I’ve never thought of myself as stressed out. So when last year I was told by my dentist that the neck pain I’d been suffering was due to unconscious grinding of the teeth – a condition called bruxism – I was mystified.
The problem is typically triggered by periods of acute anxiety. No surprise, then, that one in ten people are said to do it. Alongside pain in the mouth, it can lead to tooth erosion, severe headaches, and even neck and back pain.
A mouthguard, which looks like the rubber bit worn by boxers, only less attractive, was recommended (my husband was very polite).
He also advised that I try to find ways of making my job in medical marketing less frantic (more downtime doing yoga, less unwinding with after-work glasses of wine).
When I heard about a spa treatment aimed at easing tense neck muscles with seaweed, I was intrigued. Surely, even if it didn’t work, the break would do me good. WHERE’S THE SOLUTION? The Masseria San Domenico in Puglia – on the heel of the boot of Italy. Owner Marisa Melpignano has converted her former family home, surrounded by 250 acres of olive groves, to house a 40-bedroom spa with 21 treatment rooms decorated in Greco-Roman style with brightly coloured mosaics on the walls. WHAT’S THE TREATMENT? Historically, I’ve always had massages for neck pain, but just as I would with a doctor, I trusted the spa staff knew what they were doing when they recommended that I have algotherapy.
I was taken to one of the treatment rooms where a thick layer of warm seaweed-infused cream was applied by hand to my neck and shoulders, and I was wrapped up in cellophane to seal in the heat against my skin.
I was completely enveloped and it was incredibly relaxing, so much so that I fell asleep.
When I woke up 40 minutes later the cream was still warm on my shoulders and gently removed by one of the therapists.
Amazingly, my neck pain, a sort of dull, stiff tenderness, was completely gone.
The therapists suggested a fullbody algotherapy treatment the next day as a follow-up and, as before, the warm and smooth thick cream was painted on.
I was then wrapped and had to lie on a warm water bed which made me feel like I was floating.
Has my tooth grinding stopped? I was doing it at night so I’m not sure. The mouth guard no doubt helps but I haven’t suffered any neck pain since.
A three-night stay in a double room with two thalassotherapy spa days on full board – following a nutrition-packed Mediterranean diet – costs from £982 per person.