As part of the “living better with your pain” program offered by the Saint-Eloy Thermal Center in Amnéville, a journalist from Pourquoi Docteur put herself in the shoes of a spa guest suffering from rheumatic pain.
At the end of March, I put on a swimsuit, my swimming cap, a white bathrobe and flip-flops to test the effects of the relaxing, pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory thermal treatments provided at the Saint-Eloy Thermal Center in Amnéville, which launched its first health education program, entitled “Living Better with Your Pain”, in addition to an 18-day rheumatology treatment.
A treatment in the pool guided by a physiotherapist to work the joints
10am. I enter the premium area of the thermal baths. After giving me a towel, one of the staff members scrutinizes my treatment sheet. “This is your first time here, right?” I nod in agreement. “So, your first treatment is the mobilization pool. It’s with a physiotherapist! You have 12 minutes, you can quench your thirst or relax in the rest room while you wait. I’ll come get you five minutes before the treatment to accompany you. It’s easy to get lost here!” Without further ado, I head towards this room where spa guests leaf through newspapers, drink mint tea or contemplate the view of the forest.
Just a few minutes after I sit down and take a couple of sips of water, the woman in the purple outfit comes to get me. “It’s time !”, she said in a whisper. We walk a few meters before arriving at the pool. “Damn, class is about to start. Leave your robe and flip-flops here, then get right into the pool.” I follow his instructions. “Hello, can you please move to the right? There is still room.”says the young physiotherapist. I comply and place myself between the support bars. The session begins. The specialist shows us and then asks us to do different exercises and movements that work our joints. “It’s great, we work all parts of our body well”says a spa guest to one of her friends also in the pool. Thanks to the buoyancy of the water at 34 – 36°C, in which we do exercises for 15 minutes, our mobility seems to improve.
Less knee pain after high-pressure shower, directed thermal steam and aerobatics-hydroxer
The alarm rings. “The class is over, see you tomorrow!” the practitioner explains before going to another treatment. Some spa guests leave the pool, but I stay in the water, because my next treatment at 10:30 is the high-pressure shower in the pool. This time, it is one of the staff members who comes to explain the treatment to us. “For 10 minutes, you will stand facing or facing an underwater jet with variable direction and pressure. By turning the dial, you will be able to select one area at a time: the back, hips, knees, ankles. This will produce a deep massage of the muscles and joints. Now, it’s your turn!” I activate the mechanism and insist on my knees which are quite fragile and often hurt. This high-pressure shower did me a world of good.
Then, in the treatment schedule, I see that I have “aerobain and hydroxeur” at 10:55. Problem: I no longer remember the exact location. So I call out to a woman working in the center. “You have the vapors directed right after, I’ll take care of that. Come, you’ll do that first and finish with the aerobath-hydroxer. I’ll warn my colleague who’s in charge. Is there a particular area you want to target?” Of course: the knees. In a few seconds, I find myself sitting on a chair with my back to the large bay windows overlooking the forest. For 10 minutes, the thermal water vapor, rich in iron, manganese, salt and sulfur, is directed towards my joints. At the time, I don’t necessarily notice any effect, but when I get up at the end of the treatment, I have the sensation that my knees hurt slightly less, which is rather good news.
At 11:07, I rush to the hydroxer-aerobain, which I find quite easily. “Are you the one who was scheduled for 10:55? Come on!” Here I am, naked, in a bathtub where the water is 35 – 38°C. “We’ll start with the aerobath, which lasts 15 minutes. There will be compressed air bubbles that will gently massage you, which will stimulate your blood circulation and promote the elimination of toxins. Then, we’ll go straight to the hydromassage where several jets of water at variable pressure will travel over several parts of your body. Is that good for you?” After giving her a quick affirmative answer, she starts the machine that emits colors. I close my eyes during the two treatments and end up dozing. This bath really relaxed me. At the end of the day, I had the impression that my knees were moving better and I fell asleep straight away in the evening when this is usually not the case.
Pelotherapy: mud poultice “has a general sedative action and analgesia of painful areas”
The next day, it’s back to treatments, but different. On the program? Application of mud, turpentine shower, penetrating shower and sonic aerosol, an ENT treatment provided for adults or children suffering from allergies, asthma, sinusitis, nasopharyngitis or COPD. At 10:20, I have an appointment for pelotherapy. I go through several rooms before coming across the cabins.Let’s go. Take off your clothes and leave your stuff here.” I hurry and join the young brunette woman in another room where there is a chaise longue covered with the white plastic sheet. “I will apply hot mud to your joints, the temperature of which is between 48 – 51°C.” The peloid in question is a mixture of hot thermal water from Amnéville and clay. “This poultice has a general sedative and analgesic action on painful areas.”
On the back, knees, hips, shoulders or even ankles… These are the different areas where the expert places the mud. Before wrapping me with the white plastic sheet, she ends by placing fresh wipes on my forehead, chest and shins to prevent an increase in heart rate. “We left for 15 minutes.” She leaves me alone in the room. It’s starting to get hot, but strangely, it feels good. Completely relaxed, I doze off. “How are you ?”, the young woman says. “7 more minutes.” Once the treatment is finished, she removes the peloid which she will throw away later and rinses me with the water of my choice. “Cold or hot?” I opted for warmth before getting dressed and heading to the turpentine shower.
“Anti-inflammatory active ingredients from Landes pine essences” present on spa guests after the turpentine shower
For this treatment, which is already provided at the Thermes Sourcéo in Saint-Paul-lès-Dax, I also have to undress. A lady enters the cabin with me to explain how it works. “You will stand with your back to the micro-jets which will spray a mixture of hot thermal water (40 to 44°C) and components from the Landes pine. This treatment is done at the end of the treatment course so that spa guests can keep the anti-inflammatory active ingredients of the pine essences on them for as long as possible! You will have three minutes. The jets will stop by themselves, at which point you can dry yourself and get dressed again.”
Then I continue with the penetrating shower. This time, I am lying on my stomach and under a ramp of multi-jet thermal water. According to one of the staff members, this ramp performs a massage in successive waves on the paravertebral and dorso-lumbar muscles. This time, it is rather pleasant. After eight minutes, I have to go to the sonic aerosol. So no need to take off my swimsuit. When I arrive in the space, I realize that I am all alone. “You are one of the last spa guests! So, for this treatment, which combines classic aerosol with sound vibrations, you will place the mask on your nose and mouth and you will breathe normally for 10 minutes.” This ENT treatment ensures the penetration, diffusion and fixation of the anti-inflammatory active ingredients of the thermal water into the finest bronchi as well as the sinuses. After these different treatments, I have a little drop in energy. However, I feel completely relaxed.
