Massage, Manual Therapy, and Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Baden, a Swiss Hot Spring Town

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  • DONOYAMA Nozomi
    Course of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Department of Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tsukuba University of Technology
  • SUOH Sachie
    Course of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Department of Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tsukuba University of Technology
  • OHKOSHI Norio
    Neurology, Department of Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tsukuba University of Technology

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Other Title
  • スイスの温泉地バーデンのマッサージ・手技療法・補完代替医療
  • スイス ノ オンセンチ バーデン ノ マッサージ ・ シュギ リョウホウ ・ ホカン ダイタイ イリョウ

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Abstract

On December 11, 2013, we visited Baden, a hot spring town in Switzerland. The natural hot spring water at Baden contains sulfur, is 46.5°C with a pH of 6.43, and is used in both drinking and bathing therapies. In addition to the hot spring, the hotel spa contains a massage parlor for medical massage, relaxing massage, cosmetic massage, or various other types of massage. Previous studies have reported a preference in about half the Swiss population for hospitals that offer complementary and alternative medicine. Also, acupuncture, manual therapy, and massage are frequently used in such facilities. Medical Center Baden has both a medical department and a therapeutic department. In the medical department, medical doctors practice manual medicine (manuelle Medizin) and in the therapeutic department, physical therapists (Physiothera-peuten) practice various kinds of physical therapy (Physiotherapie) such as manual therapy (manuelle Therapie), kinetics (funktionelle Bewegungslehre), biomechanics, respiratory therapy, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, and electrotherapy/ultrasound. Medical massage therapists (medizinische Masseure) in the therapeutic department practice various kinds of massage including classic massage, manipulative massage, reflexology, connective tissue massage, manual lymphatic drainage, and Fango (a type of pelotherapy). These divisions indicate that the practices of massage and manual therapy in German-speaking Switzerland are sorted and named individually by the stimulated anatomical tissue and by type of functional and physical stimulation. In contrast, Japanese manual therapy, Anma massage therapy is holistic and based on the patient’s subjective physical and mental state. These are characteristic features of Eastern Asian medicine, which tends toward whole-body, individualized treatments.

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