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Power Healing

Korean company Ceragem claims that thermal therapy on its ‘miracle bed’ benefits body circulation and overall health — and cured patients swear the miracle bed is for real

By Raziqueh Hussain

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Published: Fri 5 Feb 2010, 9:35 PM

Last updated: Tue 24 Oct 2023, 3:17 PM

The teeming crowds gather every morning in front of the Roman Arcade shops No 1, 2, 3 and 4 at Al Mulla Plaza, Qusais. Hailing from different nations — mostly elderly — the patients chat amiably as they await a turn on what has come to be known as the ‘miracle bed’.

According to local lore, it can cure ills from migraine to kidney stones through thermal therapy. Inside the shops are rows of the beds, made by Ceragem, a Korean company. Each cot-like bed has electrically powered rollers made of heat-conducting jade stone, which travel up and down the body during a 38-minute session. The beds first became a hit in Korea in 1998 when a nine-year-old blind girl got back her eyesight after using it for nearly four months. After that, it started a global network, with a presence now in the Americas, UK, India, and in the Middle East — mainly Dubai, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia.


For more than 30 years, Mohammed Anwar Ali, a businessman, suffered a severe knee problem. “I had pain in my right knee due to an accident and I was not able to walk even two kilometres. I was unable to climb staircases without taking support of the wall or railings. Now, after taking treatment of Ceragem for five months, the pain in my knee has completely vanished and I can walk long distances. I don’t get tired as before. And I can climb staircases without support,” he beams.

A sprightly Mohammed Riyaz, who is 67, says the miracle bed helped him walk again after paralysis forced him to use a wheelchair for five years. “The doctor said I was never going to leave the wheelchair,” he says.


“Thermal massage therapy is a technique used by many people for years as an alternative medicine in Asia to alleviate stress and pain. With this feature now available in beds, the tense areas of your body can be soothed to get the comfort you need. Your blood circulation could also be improved through massage as well as other ailments,” says Mohammad Aminul Haque, assistant manager at the Ceragem centre.

Ceragem believes in community service by helping individuals take advantage of free therapy at their centres in Dubai and Sharjah. Al Mulla Plaza was Ceragem’s first dealership in Dubai; the centre opened in 2003, offering free test-runs of the beds, which sell for Dh10,500. The free tests took on a life of their own, and many people with neither the intention nor the money to buy the bed became regulars. That appears to be fine with the company. The attention has created a buzz and sales are good, with an average of 10 to 30 beds sold every month, says Christopher Mark Evangelista, the manager. Explaining the need for thermal therapy, he adds that today, most people spend their time sitting in front of a computer or television. “This lack of exercise can cause spinal muscle contractions to atrophy. The spine is the root of our life... We were not born to sit.”

Men and women show up carrying their own sheets. They know the drill: you wait a minute or two for an open bed, put down your sheet, set your shoes and wallet or purse in the basket next to the bed, press the pre-programmed massage you want, place the heating pad on your neck or tummy and wait for the heated jade rollers to start working away the day’s hassles. If it’s your first trial, then the helpful staff will lend a hand.

Fast friends and housewives, Shaista Khalid and Nusrat Raja, choose close-by beds so that they can chat up on chores, children and charity work. “It’s only my first week session and I’m already addicted to it! After my first try, I immediately felt some relief for my acid reflux condition. It’s not completely gone but it’s definitely lost its punch. Then on my second day, I said bye-bye to all my backaches and pains,” says Khalid.

Sitty Muzammila Aroos Mohamed used to suffer from lots of aches and pains due to spondylitis and Trismus (lockjaw). She popped 16 pills each day and was a cash cow for the drug industry. “But the day I started the sessions was the last day I took a pain medication. It’s definitely better than any hospital I’ve visited,” says the mother of three, who now uses the thermal therapy every day.

Not everyone, however, believes the bed has healing powers. Alim Sultan, a driver, has been coming to these sessions, albeit irregularly, for the past two months because of shoulder pain, gives the miracle bed a lukewarm review. His problem seemed to have improved only a little. “You need to take care of other things as well, like a healthy diet and enough rest and sleep,” he says.

Thermal therapy is also a green measure. Reem Sandiag, a housewife, uses Ceragem primarily for its green use. “I’ve heard it provides a deep, therapeutic massage of the entire back and the 31 pairs of nerves that run alongside the spine. And best of all, it’s a free totally green approach to managing pain and caring for your body,” she smiles.



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