For most people, visiting spas often feels like nothing but a lavish indulgence. What they don’t realize is that spa packages for seniors offer exciting perks that go beyond the health and well-being spectrum.
Different spa treatments also have their unique benefits, with most of them overlapping at times. However, several spa treatments have already been tested and proven to help with specific conditions.
Summary
Muscle and Joint Pain Relief
Many spa treatments for seniors can automatically alleviate pain as they relax both the nervous system and the body as a whole. However, several spa packages are specifically designed to reduce pain.
Paraffin wax treatments, for example, have been reported to be of great help to people suffering from arthritis in their hands. Paraffin wax is more effective compared to other forms of heat therapies in terms of objective measures of a wide range of pain, stiffness, grip strength, pinch function, and motion.
A lot of older adults have also discovered that thalassotherapy or seawater therapy can help soothe symptoms of inflammation by improving blood circulation.
Confidence Booster
It has been revealed that a person’s self-esteem peaks at about 60 years old and then declines in average seniors after this. It is assumed to be because of a myriad of factors including a perceived loss of control, health-related disabilities and limitations, and heightened loneliness.
The good news, however, is that spa packages for seniors can help boost the self-esteem of your elderly loved ones.
Facials, for instance, can offer the ultimate experience of pampering as they help relax the muscles on the neck and face. This can then reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.
Facials use anti-inflammatory and antioxidant-rich ingredients such as vitamin C, green tea, rose hip extract, grape seed extract, and pomegranate can work like magic on the face and smile of your senior loved ones.
Hair removal, threading, shaving, and other depilatory services can also give your elderly family members a more polished look, particularly when getting rid of the facial hair from their chin or upper lip.
Lift Mood and Spirits
Different spa treatments such as aromatherapy and massage therapy are also found to help reduce symptoms of depression.
Spas usually diffuse essential oils or add them to therapeutic soaks and massage therapy as a wonderful form of aromatherapy.
Lavender, a popular favorite, can help reduce symptoms of depression such as postpartum depression. This can also lower stress levels, encourage relaxation, and improve a person’s mood as a whole.
Other oils such as clary sage, sandalwood, or ylang-ylang are also found to have mood-enhancing effects.
Meanwhile, massage can fight off the blues by boosting the four happy hormones in the body, namely dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin, and serotonin. It is not a secret that high levels of the said hormones can support mood stability and improve mood in general.
Depression can also cause physical symptoms such as body aches, muscle tension, and joint pain. But massage treatments can help alleviate all of these.
Immune Support
Practitioners of acupuncture can painlessly cure the hands, feet, and ears to enhance immune function, metabolism, and energy levels.
On the other hand, lymphatic drainage massage is a special treatment that activates the lymphatic system to help prevent and fight off illnesses and infections. It is a form of specialized massage therapy that can speed up processing and get rid of excess water from muscles and body toxins.
The massage also aids in the treatment of various conditions involving tissue swelling and inflammation such as lipedema, chronic venous insufficiency, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Unlike other forms of massage therapies where the skin is exposed to intensive pressure and the muscles go through rigorous kneading, a lymphatic drainage massage is extremely gentle, which makes it the perfect addition to spa packages for seniors.
Promote Better Sleep
Getting good quality sleep is the most important step to improving health, especially in the case of seniors. A board-certified and skilled acupuncturist can render acupuncture treatments that boost the production of the hormone melatonin which plays an important role in the regulation of sleep cycles.
Acupuncture treatments are also intended to make the tongue stronger to address the condition called obstructive sleep apnea wherein the tongue tends to fall back into the mouth, blocking the airway while the person sleeps.
For those who feel nervous at the thought of getting acupuncture needles on their body, reflexology is a good option to consider. In the art of reflexology, all body parts are mapped to their corresponding region of the ears, hands, and feet.
A type of massage by essence, the pressure applied to the regions during the reflexology treatment stimulates the body’s insomnia regions to improve sleep.
Private hot tub treatments can also help relax the muscles, switch off the area of the nervous system that suffers when under stress, and soothe physical pains that affect the ability to get a good quality and sound sleep.
These spa baths also often include aromatherapy that uses sleep-harmonizing oils such as chamomile, lavender, and bergamot. Remember that in general, baths tend to dry out an older adult’s skin easily so caregivers are the ones who might benefit better from these treatments.
Improve Nail and Skin Conditions
Visiting medical spas is the best option to address skin-related issues. These are specialized types of spas that offer a day spa’s relaxing atmosphere combined with the higher levels of medical expertise and training found in medical offices.
Many medical spas focus only on the skin, offering procedures typically available in plastic surgery centers or dermatology clinics. The medical treatments go with relaxation treatments to make them the ideal way to heal and pamper the skin.
Injectables such as botox and laser and light treatments are treatments that can temporarily lessen the signs of aging with minimal side effects.
As a person ages, the nails tend to become brittle or thicker, both of which can make it harder for seniors to use the clippers themselves. Manicures and pedicures can exfoliate cracked and dry skin and get rid of calluses safely.
Experience the difference of true pampering with spa packages for seniors!