From transvaginal ultrasounds to virility treatment, luxury medi-spa resort Sha Wellness Clinic is tapping into consumer demand for improved sexual health. Nick Hendry reports
Located near Benidorm in the hills of the Sierra Helada Natural Park on Spain’s east coast, Sha Wellness Clinic has launched a dedicated Sexual Health Unit as part of Sha’s “Preventive and Healthy Ageing Medicine” programme.
Sha cites WHO research as stating that “boosting your sexual wellbeing is a fundamental factor in improving one’s own overall mental, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health”. Using this finding as its base, the new course will “address all aspects of sexual wellness including function, desire, and self-esteem,” and will be led by Clinical Psychologist Cynthia Molina
“From now on,” says Molina, “we will proactively ask all our patients about their level of satisfaction, activity, or inactivity regarding sexual health. We will ask about sexual satisfaction the same way as we are concerned about high blood pressure numbers, because it is all part of our comprehensive approach to health that we have developed at Sha.
She says: “As life expectancy increases, so do sexual expectations. If you can reach the age of 80 with a high quality of life, it makes no sense to stop sexual activity at the age of 60. Why resign yourself to living 20 years without sex?”
The unit was also inspired and informed by the latest analytical data which concluded that approximately 52% of women and 38 per cent of men suffer from some type of sexual dysfunction at some point in their lives. With this in mind, it will address all aspects of sexual wellness including function, desire, and self-esteem.
Sha’s programme will begin with a direct consultation with Dr Molina, during which a “comprehensive assessment” of the individual will take place. This will be followed by exploration of “the function of the guest’s neuroendocrine axis” (the key communication highway between the gut environment and the central nervous system) and a series of tests on the physical health of the patient, with regards to sexual function, by a gynaecologist and urologist.
The results of these initial investigations will determine the course of treatment for each individual patient, with potential further tests ranging from a standard laboratory analysis and hormone test to a trans-vaginal ultrasound.
The tests available are as follows:
- Standard Laboratory Analysis & Hormone Test: A biochemical study in which the most relevant parameters are measured to determine the current state of health and a complete hormone profile is produced.
- Metabolic Genetic Test: A complete genetic study consisting of three tests: Oestrogens, Thrombogenes and Sporadicgenes. These tests detect genetic variants related to oestrogen metabolism, oestrogen receptors, progesterone, and genes associated with thrombosis or breast cancer, in order to evaluate possible health risks in the patient.
- Transvaginal Ultrasound: An examination of the female reproductive system using high-frequency sound waves.
- Mammogram: A high-definition X-ray that uses very low-dose X-rays to diagnose any breast disease.
Following the consultation and tests, various treatments will be advised and prescribed to elevate the overall physical and emotional sexual health of the person in hand. These include:
- Enfemme: A non-invasive radiofrequency procedure for the treatment of vaginal laxity and sexual dysfunction that provides homogeneous heat throughout the internal and orexternal vaginal area to increase local blood circulation as well as the remodelling of elastin and collagen fibres.
- Emsella: A treatment that stimulates the pelvic floor area through deep electromagnetic contractions to improve blood flow to the area and help restore neuromuscular control. Recommended for cases of urinary and/or faecal incontinence in men and women, erectile dysfunction or extreme weakness in the pelvic floor.
- High Intensity Inductive Therapy: Neuromodulatory treatment using high density magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells, musculoskeletal tissue and blood vessels to produce an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, toning and tissue regenerative effect.
- Female Intimate Rejuvenation: Non-surgical genital rejuvenation treatment by laser that prevents infections, improves the pelvic floor, and reduces urinary incontinence.
- Tiai Pelvis Floor Health and Dysfunction Session: Pelvic floor physiotherapy session to stimulate nerve cells, musculoskeletal tissue, and blood vessels in this area to treat disorders and sexual dysfunctions in a natural and painless way.
- Virile Treatment with Longitudinal Shockwaves: A low intensity radial wave treatment which penetrates up to 40mm into the surface of the skin causing a micro-trauma which improves circulation and generates blood vessels which did not previously exist.
- Stem Cell Treatment: Treatment for erectile dysfunction involving the application of stem cells and autologous platelet-rich plasma to the corpora cavernosa of the male member.
Sha Wellness Clinic positions itself as “a pioneering institution in the world of health and wellbeing”. It considers this new sexual health unit as part of its “360-degree approach to wellbeing, where all aspects work symbiotically” in order to “[transform] the lives of all its guests”.
According to a recent Condé Nast Traveller article, sexual wellness is a growing trend among “big players” in the world of luxury travel.
CN Traveller quotes beauty website Cult Beauty as revealing that searches for “sexual wellness” leapt on its site by 850 per cent in 2020 – by adding this batch of treatments to their portfolio and doing so in what they call a “bespoke and ultra-personalised treatment plan based on the individual guest’s needs and goals”.
Sha Wellness Clinic is also opening an outpost Mexico in January 2024 and the Emirates in 2025.