ISPA's definition of spa "spas are places devoted to enhancing overall well-being through a variety of professional services that encourage the renewal of mind, body and spirit”. The wellness movement in society is a leading healthcare trend and this focus on wellness is a major theme of the burgeoning global spa industry. This book aims to provide a reference resource for the health and wellness dimension of spas. To date there is no reference volume offering models for spa health programmes or an evidence base for the many therapeutic claims made on behalf of spa wellness and health programmes. A key feature of this book is that it will provide an evidence base for spa therapies and their impact on health.

The spa industry is huge in the US (spa revenue has increased by 18% since 2003, spa visits by 9% and spa employees by 16% since 2003) and is growing. Despite limited data, growth rates are thought to be even higher in the UK and Europe. There are currently no good serious textbooks on Spa Medicine and there is a revival in the American naturopathic community in spa medicine. Les Moore, co-Editor of Chaitow's Naturopathic Physical Medicine, advises that a good text could be used in all the naturopathic schools plus in many of the other disciplines starting to tap into the spa industry (massage therapy, ayurveda, acupuncture, chiropractic).

"It is a big market in the US and is expanding.There are not any really good textbooks on this topic. There are a couple of books out there on Spa Medicine, and they are wrought with errors and misinformation. No actual, formal medical text has actually been written on this multi-billion dollar industry yet. A good text could be used in all the naturopathic schools, and in many of the other disciplines that are starting to tap into the spa industry. There is a revival within the American naturopathic community in spa medicine.”
Les Moore ND DOM LAc Co-Editor of Chaitow's 'Naturopathic Physical Medicine'; naturopathic physician and acupuncturist; Director of Integrative Medicine and the Spa at Clifton Springs Hospital, New York; Co-founder and founding Chair of the New York Spa Promotion Alliance; Director of CAM Special Projects, Office of Regulatory Reform, NY Department of Health.

".it could be an archetypal representative resource for a burgeoning field”
Eric Blake ND Co-Editor of Chaitow's 'Naturopathic Physical Medicine'; naturopathic physician; Clinical and Academic Faculty, National College Naturopathic Medicine

Leon Chaitow advises 'you would be daft not to take this on'.

Butterworth-Heinemann are publishing a companion Spa title on their Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure list - Spa Management: Understanding the Global Spa Industry. This is by the same authors and will publish in March 2008. It is format 234 x 156mm, 256pp, hardback. £34.99/$61.95.
It will investigate the practice of managing spas and will combine economic, social and business trends and practices in the industry. It will be aimed at practitioners and Tourism and Hospitality undergraduate courses in the UK (currently 352 Hotel and Hospitality Management courses in the UK, and 1212 Tourism courses in the UK) and US. The two titles can benefit from cross marketing.