How Often Should I Get a Massage?
Posted: Tuesday, September 01, 2009
by Jodi Forsythe
http://www.whymassagetherapy.com
As a massage therapist, I am asked this question by every 9 clients out of 10. There are several factors that I take into consideration before I answer this question, and these factors include, but aren't limited to, the following:
Why are you coming coming for treatment? For example, is this for a specific issue, or is it for relaxation? Treatments which focus on specific issues are usually more frequent, though for relaxation and general health purposes, more than once a month is not necessary unless you have the time and financial resources to get treated.
What is the tissue presentation? If you have a chronic, long-standing issue, and the tissue is very "dense" or "hard", then you may need several treatments over a few weeks to make progress. Tissue that is inflamed from injury cannot be treated directly with massage therapy, however, can be treated with Manual Lymph Drainage. Frequent treatments of this nature are recommended as this therapy facilitates the removal of metabolic waste from the injury and relieves pain and congestion.
Keeping in mind that everyone is individual and responds differently to treatment, you may notice that the effects of the treatment last only a day or so after the first treatment, with longer periods of feeling better as you progress this is when your therapist should reduce treatment frequency. After all, how are you going to know that you're feeling better if you are still getting treatments twice a week? Exactly
After 3 treatments, how are you feeling? Personally, even with chronic issues such as upper back pain and tension, I feel that a client should notice an improvement by the end of the 3 rd treatment. This is my guideline which tells me I am on the right track, and it keeps me focused on what the client needs. I'm not saying there should be a huge or remarkable improvement, but some progress should have been made. For a relaxation purposes one treatment once a month for an hour, unless you want to come more often. For an acute injury more frequent treatments of shorter duration should help relieve pain and congestion in the area, then after a few weeks, switch to deeper, muscular work for longer periods of time.
Treatment for chronic condition usually require one hour twice a week for 3 or 4 treatments, then try once a week for 3 or 4 weeks, and try to decrease to 1x in 14 days for 2 treatments. You will then go into maintenance mode.
Keep track of how you're feeling and give your massage therapist feedback so he or she will know what is working for you and what isn't. Good luck with your treatment!
Jodi Forsythe has been a Registered Massage Therapist since July of 2000, and created WhyMassageTherapy.com as an online resource for all things concerning massage therapy.
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