How often should I be getting massages?

This is the most commonly asked, yet most complex question. And it doesn't just end with massage, but rather how often should I be stretching, mobilizing, foam rolling, massaging, chiropractic and the list goes on . It seems the more into health and wellness we get the more and more we need to do to maintain it! It can be rather exhausting. So although there is no “black and white” protocol to how often you should be doing anything, we thought it might be helpful to write a guideline of sorts.
 
First, we must understand some terms, goals, and expected outcomes. Doing something simply because it is “what you're supposed to do” or because “everyone else is doing it”, might benefit you but how would you know? What are you measuring and gauging to see changes?
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For some, this may be as simple as reducing pain in everyday movement, reducing headache frequency, or regaining range of motion. For others, it may be more complex and multi-leveled specifically for the athletes. You may want to do preventative work, increase flexibility in one area but gain stability in another, and possibly break up scar tissue in another. All is doable, it is just the importance of knowing what your expectations are so you can measure the differences and changes after each session.
Much like diet and exercise the goals and outcomes are different for every body, and every body responds slightly different. Sometimes it can take 3-4 sessions before we have any true idea of how the body will react to certain stimulates and changes. And similar to exercise again, it is very important to not OVERWORK the tissue.

This is a very common and unknown mistake among very active individuals. We all are aware of how muscle breaks down during exercise and it is during the rest period that is grows, strengthens and heals. Body work is no different. We are (usually) using a heavy enough pressure or tools to create small micro tears, just like when you workout. This is also why many people feel sore or beat up the day after a massage. It is in the resting that the changes in tissue are encouraged to hold and be reinforced. It is also in these in-between days that it becomes most important to do accessory work, active stretching, and some other neurological re-education to truly help the body heal on the right “path."
 
So, now that we have a basic idea of what to look for when receiving body work lets discuss some common paths.
 
1. If you have no major injuries, issues, pains, or health problems we suggest a once a month maintenance. This will allow you to build a stronger mind muscle connection so if and when problems do start you will be acutely aware of them in the early stages that they can be addressed and reversed. This also helps to keep the body in a healthy state. You do just enough to keep status quo.

2. If this is you but you have a very sedentary job (desk or driving) we suggest doing 2x a month or 1 massage every 10-14 days. You reap all the benefits mentioned before, plus it will help to stimulate your lymphatic system and increase your blood flow. In turn, this will help to prevent swelling, bloating, as well as help to keep a better and stronger immune system.

3. The next type of individual would be someone who either has an old injury that has residual pain or loss of range of motion. It isn't serious enough to interfere with everyday life, but it is annoying enough that you catch yourself shifting positions to compensate, or sleep funny, or perhaps have trouble sleeping because of the discomfort. If this sounds like you, you will need to start with 3 sessions in a one month span to see:

A) How sore you are after each session and
B) How much improvement do you have after the 3 sessions. Based on how your body responds, and how old the issues are will dictate how often thereafter you should be coming. For most individuals, it winds up being 1x a week for 3 months to reach their goals. For others, it may need to be a bit more aggressive to make it all worth the time money and effort and yield results. At Flexation we offer target massages for those who are tight on time and/or money but still are willing and wanting to put in the effort to heal their body. Just to put things in perspective, if you were a flexation member and came 1x a week for a target massage for 3 months that would cost you right around $400 total; that's less then what most will spend in 3 months on coffee, or even better a weekend out.

4. The next type of individual is going to be a bit more complex to fit into a one size fits all recommendation. This type of person would be one that has had a chronic issue that has not gotten better. It causes pain, interferes with everyday activities and detracts from their fitness and activities. When we have people like this come in we recommend starting with 2 sessions in a week followed by a 3rd session within 1 week thereafter. At that point in time, if there hasn't been any form of relief or sign of tissue change, we would recommend imaging work or refer out to a different profession. As much as massage therapist are healers, we work with muscle and fascial tissue! Our practice is limited, and here at FLexation we care about the client. We want YOU to get better. So if we don't feel it is in our scope of practice, we have spent the better of the last year building a team of professionals we trust to refer you to!

These are again basic guidelines to help direct you and your therapist to communicate and ultimately lead you to the best health of your life!

Some final tips to remember:

• Don't overwork the tissue- massage/foam rolling. Be cautious with tender or painful tissue. It is best to let it rest or do a lite flush to promote natural healing.
• If you are extremely sore after a session of massage or body work, communicate this with the therapist and make sure you wait until the tissue is back to pain-free before another session.
• Have realistic expectations and understand tissue takes time to change. 3 sessions might help improve but it will not “fix."
• Do what is best for you, not what you “think” is best. Everybody responds different, more pressure or pain doesn't always mean better results. Sometimes fewer sessions will yield better results, or maybe you need more frequent. Pay attention to the body's changes and response and allow 1-2 months of consistent sessions to really understand your personal response.
• Other therapies will affect results. Again overdoing it with too much therapy (massage, chiro, physio, training, accessory work, self-care) can shock the body and prevent it from the goal of healing. Slowly add or subtract therapies to see what is helping, what is impinging, and what might even be hurting or delaying.

 
If you are unsure or have a lot of questions please feel free to call and discuss your personal goals with body work over the phone, or you can even make a complimentary consultation! Flexation is a studio dedicated to body health. Movement should be experienced by everyone, and pain should not be an accepted lifestyle! Let us help you take the next step towards moving freely!