Feet First: Jump into Healthy Feet Spa Treatments

Focus on Feet

The most utilized part of our bodies, the average person spends four hours (pounding out 8,000 to 10,000 steps) on their feet every day. It’s no wonder that spas and wellness centers are now putting a big focus on feet. From “foot fitness” classes to new 100-percent foot-focused med-spas to podiatrist-overseen “medi-pedis” to treatments specifically targeting high-heel pain, check out these examples of SpaFinder’s 2012 Global Trend, Healthy Feet.

Canyon Ranch’s Healthy Feet Program

Consider the new, extremely comprehensive “Healthy Feet” program at Canyon Ranch SpaClub in Las Vegas, overseen by a well-known doctor of podiatry. The program’s tagline: “If it will make feet feel better, it’s available here…” The dedicated “Healthy Feet” facility offers computerized gait analysis and orthotics assessment, along with a whole slate of foot-focused treatments performed in zero-gravity chairs, with names like “Foot Rescue!” and “Healthy in Heels.” Read about some of the services.

Image courtesy of Canyon Ranch

Yamuna Studio

One striking example of the new “foot fitness” bootcamps is New York City’s Yamuna Studio, with classes that assess people’s walk, improve their posture and offer a host of therapies designed to “get people’s shoes out of their feet.” (Yamuna also offers “Foot Waker” kits, including special exercise balls to prevent and combat high-heel trauma.)

Image courtesy of Yamuna Studio

Foot Doctor Pedicures

Podiatrist-overseen “medi-pedi” examples are numerous, from celebrity foot doc Margaret Dabbs’ London locations, including her Sole Spa at the Liberty store, to Hand and Foot Spas’ three London locations to New York City’s Ajune Spa to Kachina Natural Spa in Ireland. Famed French foot doctor Bastien Gonzalez’ signature “Le Soin de Pieds” pedicures are served up to well-heeled clients in London, Dubai, etc., and are now incorporated as the “Pedi:Mani:Cure” treatments at One&Only spa resorts, from Reethi Rah, Maldives, to Palmilla, Mexico.

Big Names Focus on Feet

Spokesperson for Miraval, Dr. Andrew Weil, has collaborated with Orthaheel, whose tagline is “Well-being with every step.” Together, they introduced a new spring collection for his Weil Integrative Footwear.

Image courtesy of www.weilbeing.com

Feet-Only Med Spas

New “100-percent-feet-only” med-spas include Stride Wellbeing in northern California, which integrates full podiatric medical services and surgeries with a rich menu of foot-relief spa treatments. (Stride’s program revolves around its STRIDE Annual Foot Exam, or SAFE.)

Image courtesy of Flickr user AMagill

Foot-Focused Packages

Multi-treatment, foot-focused spa packages specifically zeroing in on high-heel agony (i.e., special feet/calf massages, stretching, etc.) include New York’s Mohonk Mountain House’s “High Heeler” treatment. Spa Montage locations in California and Utah offer special high-heel pedicures using special oils and gels to reduce stiletto swelling.

Unique Treats for the Feet

Unique specialty pedicures, treatments and foot spas are also on the rise, from Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas’s 1930s- and Shanghai-themed “Chinese foot spa” to Dragonfly spas’ (20-plus Chinese locations) four-hand foot massages to “medi-pedis” specifically for men at the Mandarin Barber in Hong Kong, performed by a third-generation Shanghai medi-pedi master, Samuel So, using ten razor-sharp metal blades.

Image courtesy of Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong