The origins of spa

Where does the word spa come from?

Although there is no clear answer as to where the word spa began to be associated with healing practices, but there are two main theories about the term's etymology:

- 'Spa' is an acronym of the Latin phrase 'Salus per Aquam', meaning 'health from water'.
- 'Spa' is named after the Belgian village, Spa, where hot mineral springs were used by Roman soldiers to treat aching muscles and wounds from a battle.

How old are spas?

Whilst many people associate traditional spas with Roman baths, there is evidence of spa-type therapies dating back thousands of years when there was a belief in the curative powers of mineral waters. Paul Joseph, co-founder of Health and Fitness Travel explains: "Spas, healing waters, thalassotherapy, hydrotherapy and hot springs date back thousands of years - an ancient practice conducted long before the Greeks and Romans!"

One of the first written accounts of bathing being used as a curative process rather than a simple hygiene ritual was by ancient Greek philosopher Hippocrates, who was alive over 2000 years ago between 460 and 370 B.C. Hippocrates proposed that the cause of all ailments was an imbalance of bodily fluids, and advocated that "the way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day."

This process, using bathing as a treatment of disease, is known as balneotherapy and is considered the founding principle of spa-going. Its influence can be seen today in everything from mineral-infused treatments or jumping in the hot tub after a swim to thalassotherapy - swimming in seawater to heal the skin.

In their early history, the primary use of curative baths was to heal the wounds of Roman soldiers during the reign of Augustus from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D. At this time, there were approximately 170 baths, known as a thermae, in Rome and it didn't take long before all the city's citizens began to view baths as a form of rest and relaxation. It was in 70 A.D. that the Romans built a thermae bath spa around the hot springs at Bath, the first of its kind in Britain.

In 1326, Collin le Loup, an ironmaster from Liège, Belgium, discovered the chalybeate springs in the town of Spa, Belgium. A famous health resort eventually grew around these springs and the term 'spa' came to refer to any health resort located near natural springs, with individual springs being associated with the disease they were thought to benefit.

However, it was not only in Europe that rituals associated with spa-going were developing. From Japanese ryokan to Turkish hammams and Finnish saunas/steam rooms, different healing facilities were growing around the world. By the Elizabethan era, spa resorts were fully ingrained into British culture and since then they have become more advanced but still stick to their humble, restorative origins.