How Often You Should Get a Massage

Massage therapy has been scientifically studied throughout the last several decades for its many physical, mental and emotional benefits. Some of these benefits include the ability to reduce muscle tension and pain, improve blood flow, increase joint range of motion, reduce stress and anxiety, improve feelings of wellbeing, and increase parasympathetic nervous system activity (the “relaxation response”).

But how often do you need to receive massage therapy in order to achieve these benefits? The answer to that question really depends on your goals. Do you have recurring pain you’re looking to find answers for and ultimately stop? Are you seeking solutions to create more peace and less mental stress in your life overall? Do you just want to celebrate a special occasion like a birthday or holiday with a nice massage? Read below to learn more about the most common massage therapy goals and what frequency we recommend for accomplishing these goals.

Goal # 1: Stop recurring pain.

Recommended frequency (short answer): Weekly or at least bi-weekly initially, then monthly for maintenance.

Recommended frequency (detailed answer): Recurring pain can happen for a variety of reasons, but the most common reasons we see this become a problem for clients in our practice is due to previous injury, poor posture, high stress levels, repetitive motions, muscle weakness, and a sedentary lifestyle.

If you’re looking to really get to the root of your pain and stop it from flaring up so often (or at all), your therapist will need to see you often enough initially to ensure your muscle tissue isn’t given enough time to simply go back to its previous patterns of dysfunction. For example, let’s say you come in for one session and make a good bit of progress, but then you don’t come in again for another several months. More than likely your knots and tension will be right back to where they started, especially since there is a good chance these problems have been slowly forming over several years. Seeing you more often in the beginning phases of treatment will help this healing stopping-block from occurring.

Your therapist may also need to spend time thoroughly addressing areas of your body that might surprise you. For example, if you have a lot of neck or upper back pain, tight pectoral (chest) muscles may actually be contributing to your pain, even though that isn’t where you “feel” the pain. This means time will need to be spent on your actual problem areas, as well as other areas that are contributing to the problems but are not as obvious.

In addition, what is done in the treatment room is of course very important for reducing your pain and muscular dysfunction—but what you do at home is just as much so. Your therapist may recommend specific stretches, corrective exercises, foam rolling, mindfulness techniques, or even refer you out to other healthcare professionals, depending on your unique circumstances.

Keep in mind that you should certainly experience some relief after just one session, but it often takes several sessions, and sometimes even a few months of consistent bodywork (in additional to your own selfcare at home) to create real, lasting change. To put it simply: stay consistent with your bodywork, do the work at home, and you will likely see significant improvement in your pain levels.

Goal # 2: Reduce mental and physical stress in your life overall.

Recommended frequency (short answer): Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly (depending on your stress levels).

Recommended frequency (detailed answer): There’s no doubt about it. Life can be a juggling act that is sometimes very stressful. Chronic (or long-lasting) stress can lead to living in a constant state of anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, digestive disorders, headaches, TMJ due to jaw clenching, pain throughout your body, and even heart and autoimmune diseases. That’s why it’s so important to develop and implement various tools to protect your health, and overall, just make living life more enjoyable.

Different stress-reducing tools (such as such as yoga, meditation, and exercise, just to name a few) may be preferred by different people. Massage therapy is another such tool that has been scientifically shown to elicit the body’s parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) response. This relaxation response is vital for slowing the heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure, promoting digestion, and repairing damaged cells.

Depending on your current stress levels, making massage therapy part of your regular selfcare routine on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis can do wonders toward helping your body learn to relax and let go of stress and muscular tension more easily in your day-to-day life.

Goal # 3: Celebrate a special occasion with a nice massage.

Recommended frequency (short answer): Schedule as preferred.

Recommended frequency (detailed answer): If you’re not dealing with recurring pain or high levels of stress and muscular tension, there is no set time that you “need” to come in for a massage. Simply schedule whenever your schedule and budget allows, and come in as often as you like!

In terms of how long your massage therapy sessions should be, this really depends on your specific situation, how long you have had a particular issue, and how your body responds to various massage therapy techniques. After your massage therapist has worked with you for a session or two, they should be able to provide you with a detailed treatment plan that includes both recommended frequency and duration.

If you’re interested in making massage therapy part of your regular selfcare routine, book online here.