The concept of Wellness, introduced by the American scientist doctor Halbert Dunn in 1959; It is defined as providing and developing the integrity of the body, spirit and mind as well as the harmony of the individual with his environment. Thermal Tourism, on the other hand, can be shown as rehabilitation services provided by health personnel in SPA centers and hot springs in order to partially or completely improve the related permanent ailment within the scope of rehabilitation services provided to improve the health of the person, mainly due to permanent damage after the disease.
Spa wellness centers are used for many physical and mental treatments accompanied by a professional team. Spa places should be a place where the person can relax and rest in every aspect, so it is very important to work with an expert staff in terms of spa wellness applications and design. Spa wellness applications can include areas with different concepts such as pool, hot water pool, sauna, salt room, massage room, hammam, and the plans are made according to the wishes and needs of the users. Today's spa wellness services include hydrotherapy (Water Therapy), Thalasso Therapy (sea water therapy), Balneotherapy (spa water therapy), Sea - Thermal mud baths.
Wellness, the mega trend of today, emerges as a sector that covers a very wide area from thermal centers to massage, personal care, food supplements, medicinal plants, aroma therapy, weight control, fitness and healing energies.
In this context, all kinds of massage, skin care, mud and seaweed baths, bathtub treatments, thalasso therapy, which make people feel good and fit spiritually, physically, mentally and relationally, are included in the scope of body care made with healthy living methods for nature and natural products. Today, “Wellness” accepts human as a whole; it is based on harmonizing and balancing the mind, relationships and body health with each other… Moreover, the fact that these elements, which are important for one's enjoyment of life, work seamlessly among themselves, enable them to affect each other in a positive way; This is an important detail of Wellness…
Hot Spring Bath
Cure means that the treatment applied is repeated at certain intervals and at certain doses. Since spa cure treatments are a warning and compliance treatment, they should be applied at a certain time interval, under the control of a doctor. There are different cures in thermal health applications. One of them is the hot spring bath. These baths are categorized as cold, warm, hot and extremely hot according to the temperature ranges. Hot spring baths take an average of 20 minutes. Baths are usually done for 2-4 weeks, either every day (one day a week without a bath) or once every other day. The frequency of taking a bath and the degree of bathing are determined by specialist physicians for the needs of the person. In these treatments, which are carried out in private bathrooms with personalized water, the tubs are disinfected at every use.
Peloid Application
Another curing application is mud application, also known as peloid. Peloids are used in the form of baths or more often in the form of packages. Package type application is the most commonly used peloid therapy method. In mud bath cures, mineral swamps, sea and delta mud and healing soils mixed with thermomineral water are used. Depending on the needs of the person, the body areas where these packages are applied may vary. The application time of these muds, whose temperatures can reach 50 degrees, is usually 30-40 minutes. This treatment method is applied in rheumatic diseases, post-traumatic, postoperative, orthopedic lesions, gynecological disorders and some digestive diseases and successful results are obtained.
Gas Bath
A gas bath is a cure usually applied with carbon dioxide. In carbon dioxide liquid bath applications, which is a bath method with carbon dioxide water, the temperature of the water is kept between 33-35 ºC. The average duration of a cure is 15 minutes. In carbon dioxide baths, it is recommended to take a bath for two consecutive days and take a break on the third day. In addition, there is also a cure type that is applied by giving only gas in the special cabinet.
Respiratory Cure (Inhalation)
Respiratory cures are applied by dividing the mineral water into particles of appropriate size with special techniques and inhaling it through the respiratory tract. Respiratory cures are applied at an average temperature of 30 degrees, in a time interval of 5-15 minutes.
What Diseases Are Thermal Waters Good For?
Rheumatism, Neuralgia (inflammations spreading along the nerve), neuritis (nerve end inflammations), Polyneuritis (inflammation of more than one nerve), Tendinitis (inflammation of the skin), Periarthritis (inflammation of the joint membrane), Arthrosis (Joint calcifications), Rheumatoid Arthritis (Fever rheumatic diseases), Arthrosis (Joint calcifications), Cellulite (Soft tissue rheumatism), Sciatica (Compression of the sciatic nerve), Spondylitis (calcification of the spine), Mialgia (Muscle aches) , Gynecological diseases (in chronic periods), Polio Sequelae (Polio Sequelae), Hemiplegia (Paralysis of a part of the body), Paraplegia (Paralysis of both lower extremities 'both lower legs'), Fracture dislocation sequelae, sequelae from accidents and surgeries, Spiritual fatigue, mental fatigue, Intestinal diseases, kidney and urinary tract diseases, chronic cystitis, Chronic kidney stones, functional failure, respiratory system diseases, Asthma bronchial, chronic bronchitis, allergic upper respiratory tract diseases, pneumoconiosis.
Turkey is a country surrounded by many fault lines as it is located in a region where Anatolian plate fractures are present. Therefore, the lands of the country are very rich in mineral hot spring waters. There are more than 1300 hot groundwater springs in Turkey, 500 of which are known to be medicinal. For this reason, the country is one of the most preferred destinations in the world for thermal tourism. The thermal tourism bed potential in the country, which hosts a total of 190 hot springs, has been calculated as 1.365.000. Afyon ranks at the top in this ranking, followed by Aydın, Denizli, İzmir, Kütahya and Sivas provinces.
