Massage Therapy 1612308 1920
Saint Lary Sensoria RioBy the 5th century BC, the Romans had discovered the singular properties of sulfurous water on the body. Bathing in this type of water reduced muscular tension and joint pain, and had beneficial effects on the skin.
Beyond these benefits, the first thermal buildings were above all places where the Romans liked to hang out.
These thermal baths were made up of three main basins: the “frigidarium”, filled with cold water, the “caldarium”, filled with hot water and the “tepidarium”, filled with lukewarm water. The Romans immersed themselves first in hot water, to dilate the pores of the skin, then in cold water, to tone the muscles, and in lukewarm water for a final relaxing effect. Other rooms, such as the sauna or areas reserved for massages, completed a treatment offer that was more akin to relaxation than a therapeutic cure.
Thermal baths didn’t survive the fall of the Roman Empire. It wasn’t until the Middle Ages, with the discovery of new thermal springs and the development of hydrology, that this natural resource began to be exploited for therapeutic purposes.
The belief that thermal water was able to penetrate the body through the dilated pores of the skin to improve the condition of the sick persisted, however, until the 16th century.
The progressive development of chemistry and physics then made it possible to better identify the real therapeutic virtues of each type of water and to define a wider range of treatments. Numerous spa establishments were then created, and access to them, initially reserved for the elite, gradually became more democratic. Today, natural mineral waters are used to treat certain chronic pathologies.
Report Thermes Saint Lary 19 30141034864 O
Reportage Thermes Saint Lary 30136444483 O
Report Thermes Saint Lary 5 30472377420 OThermal cures have been reimbursed by Social Security since 1947.
Created in 1988,the Saint-Lary Soulan spa is approved for the treatment of rheumatology and the respiratory tract (ENT). In particular, the sodium sulfide waters from the springs that feed it have a curative action on the mucous membranes where chronic infections develop.
Hydrotherapy and pelotherapy are the two techniques used as part of the rheumatology cure. This cure has anti-inflammatory and soothing effects and is recommended for treating osteoarthritis, rheumatic arthritis, periarticular rheumatic conditions and algodystrophies.
The ENT-respiratory cure has a dual therapeutic action: physical, through the action of water heat and steam, and chemical, through the penetration of active principles through the respiratory tract. It is recommended for the treatment of chronic or recurrent ear, rhino-larynx and sinus conditions, chronic tracheobronchitis, asthma and non-disabling respiratory insufficiencies.
