Healing with clay

And which patient group do you experience most often in your home?

Orthopedic symptoms are the most common in relation to clay applications, followed by vascular disorders and exhaustion. After all, Felke Therapy doesn't just consist of a clay bath; this is where one wheel engages in the other. We also recommend to our patients at least one hour of physical activity a day, the morning sitting massage bath and offer group offers. Guests go for a walk, to the swimming pool or to our fitness room, which has endurance equipment that can be used in bad weather.

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I would like to build on this and go into more detail about how the individual elements of Felke therapy intertwine in reality. Perhaps you could take us through a typical treatment process?

It all starts with an appointment in practice. When talking to me or my wife, who is also a doctor, we and the guest consider what the right application is — rather a clay bath or a clay pack? Sometimes we also combine the two together.

With a clay bath, it is important that the guest has a sufficient physical condition. We must trust him to get out of the clay bath. You have to raise your body weight in the bathtub and then get out. In a clay bath, the clay still adheres to the body, which quickly increases the body weight by ten to 15 kilograms. We then prescribe packs for people who are no longer quite as mobile or in pain.

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The packs can be administered hot or cold. For example, if someone has activated osteoarthritis, a knee joint that is swollen, reddened and overheated, then you would always use a cool pack. The same with varicose veins. Meanwhile, we often use a warm clay pack for back or shoulder neck problems with tight muscles because this relaxes and loosens the muscles, often combined with massages or physiotherapy.

We create an individual therapy concept for the guests and also recommend the frequency of treatments. The clay bath is usually used daily, for about an hour. Depending on the patient, you can dose the pack slightly — sometimes three to four packs per week are enough.

We also have a whole range of therapists — classic physiotherapists, masseurs, but also alternative practitioners who perform spine therapy or energetic massage treatments, for example. We also offer exercise and relaxation groups. The normal diet is mostly vegetarian with a very high proportion of plant-based foods — including a large salad buffet, steamed vegetables, potatoes, rice or other cereal side dishes, cereal for breakfast and freshly squeezed juices. We only have a meat dish to choose from twice a week in the evening and fish twice a week. We also try not to use convenience products. In some cases, the Felke cure is also easy to combine with Buchinger fasting.

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Finally, as is often the case with naturopathic forms of therapy, it is important that the guests have a certain temporal structure in the form of an organizational therapeutic component. We recommend reducing media consumption or avoiding it altogether.

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Guests can certainly continue many elements of therapy at home even after they have left your home. Do you offer guests a transitional concept or instructions for this? ‍

Of course, we try to do that, even though it is always a challenge, such as permanently changing dietary habits. We have a very high percentage of regular guests — many people come back year after year to change their habits in the long term. Many diseases that occur today, especially in industrialized countries, are largely due to diet. A change in diet could significantly alleviate many symptoms. We therefore offer nutritional advice and recommend that guests also continue their education. Smaller clay packs are also easy to use at home, for example on the hands, elbows or knee joints. We also give dry clay home to guests. The clay has a very long shelf life when dry and can be mixed in portions. Naturopathy also requires a bit of cooperation and effort. Of course, it's easier to swallow a pain pill and not have to do anything else. You can use this as an emergency solution, but not necessarily regularly.

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Quick relief is often required, but you're right, it's not that simple with naturopathy.

‍ Naturopathic principles often require a series of applications. Guests must be aware of this. In the past, people often cursed for three or four weeks and were able to receive more treatments, which is often necessary, especially with chronic complaints, in order to achieve lasting or at least temporary success. Today, in addition to classic spa guests, we also have many guests who are self-payers and are taking on a shorter treatment of a maximum of 14 days due to the lack of reimbursement. Unfortunately, that is often a bit too short.

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That is understandable, of course. But back to clay: What are the benefits of clay treatment?

‍ Clay is very heavy — it has a high specific density — and ten liters weigh almost 19 kilograms when mixed with water. As a result, the leg vessels in particular are compressed very well in a clay bath. There is a backflow of blood into the body trunk, the internal organs are intensively supplied with blood and the pressure on the vessels and the entire tissue is very well relieved. In addition, the clay has a laxative effect. Inflammatory substances are released to the outside through the skin. Deacidification also takes place via the skin, as the clay is alkaline and has a pH of around 8.5.

The thermal stimulus of clay, which is below body temperature in a clay bath, also has an effect on the organism. The body must counterregulate, i.e. produce heat and, in principle, also answer this slightly cool stimulus. After all, there is also a psychologically emotional effect: If you sit in clay for an hour and can't do anything else, this is also good for people. Because we are often no longer even used to spending an hour with ourselves and thinking. Maybe you also have a nice neighbor in the clay bath with whom you can have a conversation.

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The clay bath therefore also has a social component. Are there also people who are afraid of contact with a clay bath? Yes, it happens from time to time. After all, undressing and then climbing into a clay pit is nothing ordinary. Interestingly enough, the upbringing has an effect on some guests, so they are not used to getting “dirty” and dipping their hands into the clay. We recommend kneading the clay with your hands, as this is also good for the wrists and fingers as well as the muscles.

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Is clay the same as clay or are there differences here? What clay do you use at the resort?

So that's actually a good question. Clay is a collective term and there are differences in color in particular. Some clay deposits are more ochre-colored, but in our case the clay is reddish brown. Fortunately, we have natural clay deposits on our doorstep. There is a mining site just 300 meters from our site. For our purposes, the solid clay is very easy to process. I don't see any major differences in terms of clay color and therapeutic use. I once visited a woman in Thuringia who had renovated an old farm whose walls were made of clay. This clay was much greasier and was therefore harder to mix with water. From my point of view, it was simply a bit different physically and was therefore not so suitable for clay applications. Clay processing, preparation of clay baths and cleaning are always complex and labor-intensive. This probably also means that many therapists or doctors do not want to offer clay baths. A Kneipp bath facility is easier to maintain.