How often should I have a massage?

Now this is a question that I get asked a lot and as massage therapist it’s how I pay the mortgage so the easy answer is “at least twice a week!!”.

Of course I am not being serious but when you type this sort of thing into a search engine you can find 101 different answers and depending on who is asking the question would depend on the answer.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, massage has a wide range of benefits (https://kinisiuk.com/what-who/) so by asking how often it adds another level to it – who is asking and what are they looking to get out of the massage.

Let’s take a professional athlete who trains every day, sometimes twice a day – they are operating at an elite level and they need their body to be in optimum condition on a regular basis. They would benefit on numerous levels from a massage and they might expect to have several massages over the course of their intense training program and that could be several a week alongside their ice baths, saunas and other recovery methods employed by elite sports.

However, not many of us are that fortunate to be earning our living from competing as a professional athlete.

My clients range in age from early teens to nonagenarians and from people who do structured exercise every day to people who rarely exercise (or at least no structured form of exercise) and  a deep tissue or sports massage can work for every single one of them.

But how often?

There are lots of factors we need to take into account – age, weight, body-shape, diet, exercise, sex, injury, sport specific, job, time and money for instance.

Also, lots of questions to ask: Is it to take care of everyday aches and pains? Is it to help you recover from a specific event? Is it just to make you feel more relaxed or is it a routine maintenance to ensure everything operates as it should? Are just a few examples!

• I have clients who work out 7 days a week so having a good maintenance/recovery massage every two weeks or every  month would be beneficial, it could keep the body in optimum condition and prevent injury, imagine if you couldn’t work out how many of us use workouts for our psychological health.
• I also have clients who lead a quiet sedentary life, occasional walks, working from home in front of a computer all day, then perhaps the frequency doesn’t need to be quite as often maybe every couple of months. (I find when I am sitting writing blogs my back and shoulders ache and by the time I go to bed in the evening headaches can be a problem so I need a good stretch and get my thumbs in my trigger points.)
• Then there are the people who find with their daily routines and general health and well-being a massage is something that is only necessary when they ‘feel’ something not quite right. They look me up, book in for an all over treatment and then are fine for another 6 months or so – again more than acceptable.

So there isn’t a straightforward answer everyone is different and just because I say once a month for example doesn’t mean it is suitable for you.

Time and Money!!

Finally, I have left the biggest factor till last ‘resources’ – time and money!! I know from experience my mortgage has been increasing monthly and the energy bills keep mounting up so sometimes leaving the massage for another week or two seems the best option or the kids football or after-school clubs leave you with no time for yourself.

Unfortunately, this is the real life situation we find ourselves in, in an ideal world I would have several treatments a week, I would pamper myself and make sure my physical and mental health along with my family were my top priorities.

It’s difficult but I for one am trying to just find that bit of time and money to ensure I keep on top of these issues and would suggest you do to – whether it’s book a massage, go for a walk or run, take time out just to breathe, phone a friend, have a coffee anything to make sure you keep an eye on yourself.

I am here for you

Like my opening statement from a earning a living point of view I would love it if my clients had endless resources and visited me all the time but I know that is unrealistic. I am here to try and make things a little easier for everyone. If you can’t find a time that suits you on the booking system, message me, I will endeavour to find time for you.

I have tried to create a block booking option where you can pay for 3 treatments at £60 and we can book them all in advance (book the first one then we jointly organise the other two) which means you have them in the diary and don’t run out of time and it also saves you some money.

Finally, if you are unsure on what you need or if massage is for you, call me or message me I am always happy to talk – even happy to go and grab a coffee and just chat.

Thanks for reading and hopefully it’s given you something to think about.

Have a great day and find time to look after yourself.

Paul