How often should I get a massage?
Massage frequency has been the main re-occurring question over the past twenty years of my massage career. The right answer differs from client to client as well as many personal factors. These include your general health, reasons for getting massages, if you had massages before, how did you feel after the massage and time and budget.
Why are you coming in for a massage? The following guide is a basic template for you to understand and be informed on frequency of massages.
General Relaxation
Many people enjoy massage for general relaxation, this helps to support proper body functions, such as blood circulation and joint flexibility. This is also used as a preventative measure, getting regular massage sessions can help to prevent pain, stress points, and muscle tension from building up. Receiving massages once or twice a month can have excellent health benefits and help reduce the effects of light to moderate day to day stresses.
Stress Management
For those who have high-stress occupations, stressful living conditions, or travel frequently, weekly massage therapy sessions will help you with coping with your stress. Tension that builds up from stressful situations can be much more manageable with weekly massages. Sometimes just knowing that you are scheduled for a massage each week or every other week can be incredibly comforting.
Pain Reduction and Management
People in severe pain, not requiring medical attention (think migraines , carpal tunnel, or a slew of other conditions). This may require massage frequency of 1-2 sessions per week, as your pain diminishes so would the regularity of massages.
Sports Performance
For those who are very active or engage in intense physical activity, massage can be utilized to enhance performance as well as speed recovery. Massage helps to strengthen muscles before the activity, and to heal them afterwards. Massage frequency can be as much as a few times per week, to a few times per month.
Pregnancy Massage
As beautiful as babies are, pregnancy can often be traumatic to a women’s body. Expectant moms often experience aches and pains as their pregnancy progresses and sometimes long after the delivery. Always check with your doctor first, but massages once or twice a month during and after your pregnancy, can ease the back pain, reduce swelling, lower levels of anxiety, while elevating mom’s mood.
