How often do you REALLY need a massage?
It is frequently asked how often people should get a massage, and it’s a really difficult question to answer properly as there are so many different factors involved. If you’ve already got a great massage therapist who knows you and your lifestyle, it’s a great idea to have a chat with them and come up with a guide to how often massage would be good for you personally.
The main things you need to consider are your overall health, stress levels, whether you’re in any kind of pain and also whether you are a regular exerciser or athlete. You’ll certainly be able to get the best from your massages if you have them regularly to keep up the benefits. Massage helps in so many ways; it relaxes you, improves your circulation, relieves pain and can even help to manage long term pain conditions like arthritis.
When you’re stressed
Whether the stress is coming from your everyday work, or a life event that’s knocked you for six, a massage can be a real tonic. If the stress is long term and ongoing, it figures that your massage therapy should be the same.
If your job involves frequent travel, it’s also a good idea to get a massage more regularly as this can put a lot of stress on your body on top of the inactivity from driving or flying. A weekly or bi-weekly massage is ideal if you are really feeling the pressure, because the tension can build up when you’re dealing with stressful situations and before you know it, it can get on top of you. Just scheduling in that bit of weekly me-time can go a long way towards relaxing you and helping you deal with the things that are stressing you out.
When you’re in physical pain
Massage can be a very good pain reliever. If you are in chronic pain and don’t want to keep taking higher and higher doses of pain meds to try and alleviate it, it can be worth trying a regular course of massage therapy to get on top of the pain and manage it better.
Find a massage therapist you trust and tell them that you are dealing with a chronic pain condition. If they are able to help they might also suggest techniques like deep tissue massage and craniosacral therapy to try alongside a massage on a regular basis. For chronic pain, at least a weekly massage is recommended – more if the pain is severe, at least to start with. You can then reduce to weekly, or bi-weekly, depending on how you feel.
When you exercise a lot
It’s important to make sure that your muscles and joints are kept in the best possible health when you’re an athlete or do a lot of exercise. Higher levels of physical activity are great for your fitness but can put strain on joints and leave you prone to injury. If you’re very sporty or an athlete you could consider a twice-weekly massage – even more if you’re training for an event. Once or twice a month is fine if you’re not in training. Massage is a great way to give yourself a competitive advantage as you can train harder without having to worry about injuring yourself.
In general
If you just want to have a massage for the health benefits but don’t have any medical or physical needs, a massage once or twice a month should be all you need to get the benefits of regular massage. Scheduling in a relaxing massage treatment for yourself on a regular basis means that you can build on the effects of each session, whereas if you only have a massage occasionally you have to start again from scratch every time!
