A Winning Team: ISPA Members Feature Treatments for Athletes

As we watch the 22nd Winter Olympics, we’re reminded that it’s not only the Olympic-level athletes that face challenges in their sport. Athletes around the globe of every level risk pain, fatigue, and bodily stress before, after, and during their exercise. Luckily for them, many International SPA Association (ISPA) members offer treatments especially for the dedicated athlete, in order to facilitate performance, prevent injury and provide relief.

“It is especially important for athletes to stay in tune with their bodies, decrease pain and engage in preventative practices,” says ISPA President Lynne McNees. “Many of our members have created the perfect treatments for their active guests. The annual U.S. Spa Industry Study reports that 95 percent of spas offer some type of deep tissue or athletic massage on their spa menu.”

Here is a sampling of International SPA Association members and their athletic treatments:

• The Essex Resort and Spa in Essex, Vt., offers the Muscle Melt, a blend of herbs and liniment mixed with aloe vera that relieves aching muscles and swollen joints, followed by a warm body wrap and application of Arnica cream.
• Grand Velas Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, offers the Nik Te Ha Aquatic Massage, an underwater massage that relaxes the muscles and increases flexibility to heal chronic fatigue and stress.
• Heavenly Spa at the Westin Beach Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., offers the Cold Stone De-stress Massage, a fusion of massage techniques involving cold stones and a unique blend of essential oils that reduces swelling, inflammation and soreness.
• Mii amo in Sedona, Ariz., offers the Seven Canyons Champion, a triple treatment of hydrotherapy, full body massage and reflexology session designed to restore balance, calm and soothe the muscles and release muscle tension and pain.
• Rancho La Puerta in San Diego, Calif., offers the WATSU, a therapeutic, aquatic healing technique that moves the body fluidly through warm water to promote a state of relaxation in the muscles and nervous system.
• Sahra Spa & Hammam at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nev., offers the Tension Relief Bath, a scrub and soak with an option of moisturizing or massage that calms and restores the body with a fusion of aromatherapy oils that target sore muscles and tight joints.
• Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz., offers the Tao of Golf, a treatment designed to address areas specific to the golf swing that uses a variety of techniques to stretch and release tight muscles. Guests also receive a complementary sleeve of Sanctuary golf balls!
• Sense, A Rosewood Spa at CordeValle in San Martin, Calif., offers the Grape Seed and Cherry Bark Scrub, a vinotherapy exfoliation that smoothens and nourishes the skin, easing cardiovascular conditions and improving circulation.
• Sense Spa at Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver, British Columbia, offers the Deep Relief Massage, a deep-tissue massage that focuses on the deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue to promote relief and relaxation, lowering both heart rate and blood pressure.
• SenSpa in San Francisco, Calif., offers the Therapeutic Deep Tissue, a massage focusing on muscles located below the surface muscles to relieve long-held, chronic muscle tension and break adhesions in connective tissue.
• Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa, Calif., offers the Silverado Golf Ball Massage, a treatment that uses a golf ball to apply massage pressure, allowing for a deeper therapy combined with passive and active stretching techniques to relieve muscle tension and increase joint flexibility.
• Skin Sense in Raleigh, N.C., offers a double treatment: the Sugar and Salt Scrub Massage with Deep Tissue Massage and Hydrotherapy Bath before the athletic event to soften tissue and loosen muscles, and the Cold Stone Swedish Massage, Muscle Soothing Arnica Massage and Wrap and Tepid Hydrotherapy Bath for after the athletic event to reduce inflammation and muscle soreness.
• SoHo Sanctuary in New York, N.Y., offers the Sports Massage, a treatment that focuses on a specific area or muscle to relieve chronic pain or restricted range of motion due to sports-related injuries.
• Spa at Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley, Calif., offers the Thai Massage, an ancient treatment that combines acupuncture with joint mobilization and yoga stretches to leave the body both relaxed and energized and increase flexibility and strength.
• The Spa at Pinehurst in Pinehurst, N.C., offers the Athlete’s Retreat, a service designed for rapid recovery after a day on the golf course that incorporates pressure and stressing with detoxifying essential oils.
• The Spa at Regent Palms in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, offers the Bamboo Massage, a deep massage inspired by East Asian techniques that uses lengths of bamboo to produce muscle tension release.
• Spa La Vie at Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville, La., offers the Sports Massage, an application of heated herbal packs followed by stretching and sports massage techniques that benefits muscle recovery and flexibility.
• The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Va., offers the Arnica Muscle Repair Massage, a deep tissue massage that incorporates arnica oil to ease muscle strain and joint stiffness.
• Spa of the Rockies at Glenwood Hot Springs in Glenwood Springs, Colo., offers the High Altitude Massage, a blend of deep tissue work and heated mineral packs that flushes out post-workout lactic acid buildup and incorporates range of motion and stretching techniques.
• Timbers Resorts – Vail, Bloom Spa in Vail, Colo., offers the Morning Glory, a blast of peppermint-infused oxygen accompanying a series of stretches and warming foot balm designed to re-energize and balance the body.