How Often Should I Get A Massage?

One question people ask me quite often is, "How often should I get a massage?". There is no one answer for everyone, as everyone is different. However the general agreement among the massage community is that you should a massage about...

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once a month. If you are able to get more than once a month, great! If once a month is a little too much on the wallet for you, you don't have to worry.
     You can always spread it out a bit more if the money is tight. Even if you get a massage once every two to three months, that's still pretty good. And of course, if you are looking for monthly massages without it being so hard on the finances, I am occasionally willing to be flexible to accommodate for you and your situation. 
     Sometimes people will say, "Oh massage is just a luxury". But for people who deal with chronic pain on a daily basis, massage can help alleviate some of that pain, assuming it's within our scope of practice and it's a soft tissue matter. If it's anything other than soft tissue pain, then you want to go see a doctor or a chiropractor. Massage can help calm and soothe the nervous system and help it to relax which in turn will calm the pain you are feeling temporarily.
     Even if you are getting massage once a month every month, that is great, but it's still not enough. If you are getting massages and then simply going back to your bad habits or to your work environment that's causing your first place, you aren't going to get better. Along with the massages, I strongly recommend that you do self care exercises daily. 
     Self-Care is a vague term and it covers a lot of different things. For starters, self-care obviously means you are doing activities and exercises to help you care for yourself. Exercise is the first and biggest thing you can do for yourself as a part of your self-care. Other forms of self-care include yoga, foam rolling, stretching, eating healthy nutrient packed foods, go heavy on the greens etc,.
​     Getting eight hours of sleep each night is very crucial to keep your body healthy and up to par.  Meditation can be helpful if you struggle with overthinking, high stress levels and never able to sit in quiet. Doing a few minutes of quiet mediation or deep breathing before you go to bed can help you sleep better. 
     Massage and self-care go together. Together they form a powerful duo. What I personally have found is that the more you exercise and stay active, the better you will generally feel. I still have some clients whom I see every three weeks because they had been living in constant pain for so long. But for most people who don't have to deal with chronic pain every day, I would suggest getting massage once every 4-6 weeks. 
     I hope you found some value in this article and that I answered your questions. Let me know in the comments if you have anything you would like me to cover. 

Cheers, 
Alex S.