Among the many things we hear celebrities do to maintain their envious body shape, glowy skin texture and a general good mood, is visiting saunas at least once a week. Sweating is a beneficial method for cleaning toxins out of your body and sweating in a sauna is always the preferable option by those who aren’t really fond of running.
If you think saunas are an invention of the modern technological world, you’re awfully wrong. Saunas have been around since ancient times, known as “hot air baths” which differed quite a lot in design and appearance, but not much in purpose: busting stress, increasing relaxation and detoxification of the body. Today, we have FIR saunas, which combine the benefit of focused infrared light and heat to provoke the body to sweat and release all the toxins within.
Maybe the use of saunas has been on stand-by for some time now, as fitness has become the primary activity for taking care of the human body, placing wellness on a rather second, supportive place. However, we can’t fight our need for pampering, and FIR saunas have evolved to a point where they can be installed in the comfort of our homes offering us unlimited access to soothing rituals.
Besides the incredible feeling of release after spending a few quality minutes in a sauna, sweating has health benefits as well. When you run, your body produces heat from the fast circulation of your blood and the efforts you put in. But after you stop, your body instantly starts to cool down, releasing all the heat it produced which can often result in shivers and pain in your bones and joints.
When you sweat in a sauna on the other hand, you don’t need to put any efforts nor speed up your blood circulation. Your body is simply heated by the infrared light, which generates a warm feeling in your bones and causes you to sweat. This makes the sauna an incredibly good healing option for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune type of arthritis where the body attacks the wrists and the small knuckles and joints of the fingers. The condition is caused by a faulty immune system which confuses a healthy tissue with a sick one and triggers the immune system to attack it. Since it’s a common problem in people, scientists made efforts to find treatments that can help the affected patients.
One way to ease the pain is to visit a FIR sauna, or if your condition is quite severe, to get one installed in your own home. It has been proven that saunas can alleviate pain and improve joint mobility in patients with arthritis. The Dutch and the Finnish people have accepted this method of treating the condition and have even perfected it after discovering it, which is why today in many spa centres you’ll see a “Finnish spa treatment” offered as a service. Saunas also ease the stiffness and the fatigue that patients who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis often experience.
Other methods of treatment might be more effective, but definitely not healthier. As a matter of fact, you might be even experiencing side-effects from some of them.
Medications for the condition include NSAIDs like ibuprofen, which can cause a feeling of stomach irritation, ringing in your ears and even heart problems. Then, there are steroids for the extreme cases which reduce inflammation but can cause thinning of bones.
Surgery is another option and it’s a way to repair extremely damaged joints and correct some deformities which may have occurred as a result.
Alternative medicine is also an option if you don’t like consuming chemistry. Fish oil should become part of your daily diet and it may reduce the stiffness and the pain. You could also try practising Tai Chi, which as a form of gentle exercise could help you deal with the pain.
