OPINION T
he spa industry is perceived as friv- olous and self-indulgent at a time when the global economy is austere.
Secondly, its rather extravagant claims are fre- quently not evidence-based. T irdly, and most signifi cantly, it is not perceived as part of the healthcare system, which is a high hurdle. We don’t really have a healthcare system
in the US, or globally – we have a disease- management industry – so there could be the opportunity for the spa sector to be at the leading edge of true healthcare. T ere are some areas of concern within
the industry: certainly some extreme and questionable dietary practices. Some of the extreme fasts and dietary restrictions are not only questionable, but dangerous. T e more invasive the procedures, the more you need clear evidence that they work, because it involves risks. For example, if colonics are not implemented properly they run the risk of perforating the intestinal tract, or other com- plications. It doesn’t mean don’t do it, it just means you need a certifi cate of effi cacy and to follow up what happens. T e constituents and components that go
into some of the herbal remedies are worry- ing. Without true analysis and disclosure to the individual of what they are taking, what the purity is and how standardised it is, you
DR KENNETH R PELLETIER
Clinical professor of medicine, University of Arizona School of Medicine and University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco, USA
simply cannot know what the consequences will be. The axiom is that if something is powerful enough to work, then it is power- ful enough to have side eff ects. Rejuvenation injections is a highly ques-
tionable area [see sb06/3 p30]. T ere is scant evidence that this works, whereas there is com- pelling proof that certain hormone injections cause cancers and changes in the immune sys- tem that are destructive. T ere are two images portrayed of the spa
industry. T e negative perception is that it is selling whatever will sell to whoever is gulli- ble enough to buy it. But, on the positive side, there are centres where health is the objective, with long histories of providing therapeu- tic treatments. Although these centres need more scrutiny and documentation to back up their claims, they do seem to have real prom- ise to create optimal states of health. If there was adequate documentation that tracked
MINDY TERRY
President & founder, Creative Spa Concepts
I 84 spa business handbook 2011
t is certainly possible for spas and med- ical communities to form successful collaborations. I experienced this when
working on Vita – a groundbreaking wellness and lifestyle facility from Henry Ford West Bloomfi eld Hospital in Michigan, in the US, which opened in 2009. Vita combines traditional western med-
icine with eastern therapies, other healing treatments and educational classes. Each pro- gramme – focusing on everything from skin
the intermediate and long-term outcomes of health claims, then the spa industry would be open to a diff erent, and larger, global audi- ence, especially the corporate market. One of the fi rst things the industry needs
to do is to create a database for all spas to access, which draws upon the available glo- bal evidence of what works, what doesn’t and what needs further research. T ere are now a number of delegates from last year’s Global Spa Summit who are working towards such a data- base and we hope to have initial components online by the next summit in May 2011. The industry could aid this process in
many ways: by contributing funding, submit- ting reports for possible inclusion, or even by putting forward preliminary research on innovative new therapies being used. Dr Pelletier is a medical and business
consultant to corporations such as Canyon Ranch and Rancho la Puerta.
and body health to lifestyle and stress man- agement – integrative therapy and class went through a rigorous review by a scientifi c com- mittee made up of physicians, scientists, nurses and Creative Spa Concept’s team, ensuring each experience to be safe and eff ective. Early in our process, we reviewed the poten-
tial West Bloomfield market. The doctors initially wanted to off er only medical-based treatments. T ough, when we analysed Vita’s potential consumers, they matched the average
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