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The Spa Island of Piešťany is one of Europe's largest and most unique spa complexes. It owes its reputation mainly to its unique natural thermal mineral water springs, which rise from a depth of over 2,000 metres.
The springs, that contain many specific chemical compounds and the heat energy from the depths of the earth, are also the main factor in the formation of the destination’s incomparable curative sulphurous mud. This is a uniquely peculiar peloid, which is the result of long-term chemical reactions of thermal water with local soft rocks and specific bacterial microflora.
Natural therapies at Piešt’any are particularly effective for increasing mobility and releasing physical pain and tension. They treat a range of symptoms affecting the muscular-skeletal system.
However, you need not have any of these symptoms to enjoy a healthful, relaxing and luxurious spa stay with us at Piešt’any.
There at 10 mineral springs on Piešt’any Spa Island, each coming through breaks in the tectonic plates from between 60 and 200 metres below ground. Its surface temperature is a very hot 67-69 degrees and so it is cooled before use in the spa. The thermal mineral water is unique in its high sulphur (6-10mg per litre) (not higher, like 570mg?) and hydrogen sulphide (4.7mg per litre), which has positive effect on healing chronic mobility, muscular skeletal and inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and rheumatism. This is why Piešt’any is a good choice for guests with any bone, joint or muscle conditions or skin disorders. And is the reason for the island’s famous ‘crutch breaker’ emblem. Legend says that guests who arrived on crutches, left without them.
Piešt’any’s thermal mineral water is used in the beautiful Mirror Pool, for relaxation, in individual hydrotherapy baths, in the famous Mud Pool and in exercise pools, where the thermal effects of the hot water have a mechanical effect on the body: it causes hydrostatic pressure around limbs, diminishing the effects of gravity and so making movement easier.
The thermal water is also cooled for drinking from fountains around the island. Minerals are well absorbed into the blood stream through mucosa in the digestive tract.
The effects of the mineral-rich thermal waters in Piešt’any are powerful and varied, most notably for inhibiting muscular skeletal inflammation and for supporting the production of collagen and elastin in cartilage, sinews and connective tissue.
The hyperthermic and mineral qualities also dilate blood vessels, reducing blood pressure and improving lymph flow.
The high sulphur content leaves deposits on the epidermis that penetrate into deeper tissues in the form of chondroitin sulphate to encourage the formation of hyaluronic acid. The waters also have an antiseptic effect for disorders such as eczema and psoriasis - and for all-round soft skin.
Piešt’any mud is uniquely rich in sulphur and hydrogen sulphide which gives it a powerful therapeutic action on muscular skeletal disorders, which also benefit from its natural heat-conducting qualities and high levels of rare, live bacteria. Harvested from the banks of the town’s River Váh, this blue-almost-black peloid sediment is ‘ripened’ or matured for at least a year, in special pools of the spring’s thermal water, before use in the spa. Piešt’any mud is certified throughout the European Union for its physical, chemical and biological qualities for therapeutic purposes.
The ‘butter-like’ mud, at an unusually warm 45 degrees, is packed onto particular body areas, where it stays warm thanks to its thermal properties. It cools four times slower than the water.
Piešt’any’s Mud Pool is unique among all thermal spas in Europe. Not only is it filled with hot thermal water and carpeted with our potent mud, it sits under a stunning Art Deco dome, which lends a hallowed reverence to the bathing experience. The mud and water elements in the pool are so potent that wallowing - which is all you can do in such heat and intensity - is clinically sufficient to affect the body’s metabolic processes after 20 minutes. This is followed by an obligatory 20 minutes lying down wrapped in a sheet to continue the therapeutic benefits.
Piešt’any mud has strong anti-inflammatory benefits, reducing muscle tension and swelling around joints. Due to its high levels of sulphur, it helps to build cartilage, connective tissue and intervertebral spinal discs. It’s rich mineral content has further positive impact on bones, muscles, tendons and synovial fluid and suppresses the effects of inflammation around the joints.
The range of therapies is broad, including manual and mechanical techniques such as physiotherapy, massage and dedicated stretching of soft tissue, to the regenerative benefits of therapies with electricity, magnetism, light or ultrasound at their core.
Each of the broad range of medical treatments offered at Piešt’any has a specifically-targeted benefit for pain relief and functional improvement. These include calming nerves, exercising blood vessels, building soft tissue and encouraging lymph flow.
