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Bloomberg

The commercialisation of anti-inflammation has taken on a life of its own.
Private members’ clubs are now hosting US$4,000 anti-inflammatory retreats. Hotels have redesigned menus around anti-inflammatory eating. Vibration plates, fitness devices promoted for lymphatic drainage that cause involuntary muscle contractions, are popping up across social media. If you see the phrase “lymphatic drainage” in a spa treatment, the I-word will almost certainly appear soon after.
Anti-inflammatory treatments claim to provide immediate rewards such as less puffiness or a more chiselled jawline. The demand is now filtering through to doctor’s offices. Jason Schroder, a doctor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and founder of Craft Body Scan, says patients ask him about inflammation nearly every day.
“Many come into my office saying they read something online,” he says. “They want to know if it’s something to be worried about. Most of my patients have no idea what it actually is but just know that it sounds bad.”

Consumer interest has also surged online. TikTok has 340,000 videos under the “lymphatic drainage” hashtag, with before-and-after videos like one from an aesthetic nurse offering tutorials on how to go from a puffy face to “snatched face” with a 30-second massage technique. The video has 1.4 million views.
Some doctors suggest that these types of sales pitches trade on the fact that many consumers don’t fully understand what purpose reducing inflammation serves. Schroder calls lymphatic-drainage massages helpful after surgery, especially for cancer patients or people dealing with a diagnosed lymphatic disorder. The evidence is weak, he says, for weight-loss purposes. There’s no harm in a relaxing massage, but its benefits are usually temporary and healthy people don’t usually need them.
“Inflammation is designed to help us,” says Philip Calder, professor of nutritional immunology at the University of Southampton in England.

The body’s inflammatory response plays an essential role in fighting infection, healing wounds and defending against injury, he says. Health problems can arise when inflammation becomes chronic, contributing to conditions including arthritis, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Growing research into chronic low-grade inflammation has helped elevate the concept from a niche topic to a mainstream health concern. But somewhere along the way, Calder says, nuance has been lost.
“People like a simple story,” he says. Inflammation becomes “harmful, so here’s what you need to do to fix it.”
Beth McGroarty, director of research at the Global Wellness Institute, an industry group, says consumers can now find anti-inflammatory claims across skincare, recovery therapies, supplements, destination spas and even travel programming.
“Everything you see – red light therapy, cold plunges, sauna – it all seems to either tack on or lead with a claim about systemic inflammation,” she says. “It’s kind of a gold mine of vagueness.”

Luxury operators are responding to growing consumer demand.
Surrenne, the wellness club owned by Maybourne Hotel Group, held its first anti-inflammatory Reset Retreat on the French Riviera in April. Guests followed anti-inflammatory menus rich in omega-3s and vegetables created by celebrity nutritionist Rose Ferguson. They did high-intensity, low-impact movement classes, went on guided coastal walks and attended workshops with Ferguson on topics like mindful eating. The programme cost US$3,890 for three nights, plus the room rate at the luxurious Maybourne Riviera hotel.
“Everybody is asking or talking about inflammation now,” says Hattie David-Wilkinson, Maybourne’s global head of wellness and longevity.

At Surrenne, David-Wilkinson points to facilities including hyperbaric oxygen therapy, cold plunges, breathwork and lymphatic drainage treatments as tools associated with reducing inflammation.
“I think everyone is so concerned about inflammation these days because of our lifestyles,” she says. “We’re stressed, we’re living in polluted cities, we’re eating convenience food that we know is bad for us.”
David-Wilkinson says consistent changes happen through daily habits, not one-off holidays. She adds that Surrenne has a medical-based approach under the supervision of doctors and members can opt for an approach tailored to their own needs.
Liza Osagie-Clouard, medical lead at Surrenne, says that for most healthy people, the most powerful anti-inflammatory interventions remain remarkably unglamorous: a good night’s sleep, resistance training, movement, metabolic health, nutrition, stress management and social connection. She adds that she does see value in carefully selected treatments like compression boots, heat therapy or cold exposure.

Austrian wellness clinic Mayrlife has a weekly US$4,914 anti-inflammation programme. Triplebond, a new social wellness club opening in London in August, will have what it calls a dedicated lymphatic lounge. The resort World of Quercus in Gay, Georgia, has anti-inflammatory diet plans that it integrates into the amenities offered. Guests can get mini-rebounding trampolines sent to their cabins – the bouncing is thought to stimulate lymph movement, according to the resort’s founder, Chiara Visconti di Modrone. She says research doesn’t show that manual lymphatic drainage prevents disease or “detoxes” healthy people.
“I still do these practices, and we offer the gentle versions to guests, because they make people feel good,” she adds. “Less puffy, more relaxed, more connected to their bodies. That is a real benefit, even when it is not a clinical one.”
Consumers say they’re spending money on these treatments because they believe it makes them look and feel better.

In New York, Ariana Squillacciotti, 34, has built a routine around reducing inflammation. Every day the co-founder of boutique PR firm Bond practises gua sha, a traditional East Asian technique that involves scraping the skin with a smooth tool to increase circulation.
She regularly books a 90-minute “brain detox” at a Japanese spa in Brooklyn that includes lymphatic-drainage massage, and she recently bought a $110 vibration plate from Amazon, which now sits beneath her desk while she answers emails. She says even if doctors say healthy people don’t need a lymphatic-drainage massage, she believes in doing what feels good, and this works for her.
“I notice that my energy levels have increased since becoming super strict with my drainage routine,” Squillacciotti says. “I see an immediate reduction in puffiness, and I swear it helps kick jet lag – something pretty helpful when you’re working across three time zones.”


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Private clubs and hotels are cashing in on US$4,000 retreats that claim to reduce inflammation, offering lymphatic drainage, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and more


Private clubs and hotels are cashing in on US$4,000 retreats that claim to reduce inflammation, offering lymphatic drainage, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and more.


What are anti-inflammation retreats, and do the wellness benefits really last?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Private clubs and hotels are cashing in on US$4,000 retreats that claim to reduce inflammation, offering lymphatic drainage, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and more

Private clubs and hotels are cashing in on US$4,000 retreats that claim to reduce inflammation, offering lymphatic drainage, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and more