How Often Should You Get a Massage?
For many many years now, relaxation days have been synonymous with trips to the spa, in combination with many other pampering activities such as getting a blow dry, facial, manicure and pedicure, and it’s a no brainer why this is the case. After all, massages provide a lot of well-documented and thoroughly studied benefits.
Benefits of getting a massage
Massages come in different kinds, and based on the style you are getting, you can gain different health benefits. For instance, Swedish Massages that are characterised by soft, long kneading strokes and light, rhythmic, tapping strokes can relieve muscle tension and be both relaxing and energising. Deep Tissue and Sports Massage, on the other hand, are known to promote flexibility, prevent injuries and, at the same time, aid in their healing. Aside from these benefits, massages can also help address one of the biggest problems that have been affecting three in every four UK professionals: sleep issues.
There are many ways ‘Massage Therapy Helps You Sleep Better at Night’. For one, it can help the body produce serotonin, which in turn creates melatonin — an essential hormone for quality sleep. In a recent study cited by Pain Free Working, over a third of the 578 patients that participated in the research said that massage therapy not only relieved their pain but also helped them fall asleep during the therapy service.
Aside from improving sleep and reducing pain, Thrive Global also detailed how massage therapy can lower the risk of high blood pressure, improve blood circulation, restore proper use of insulin in the body, alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety and reduce inflammation.
Confronted with all these benefits, a lot of people might be wondering how often they should get a massage in order to take full advantage of these benefits. The answer is, it depends.
Based on the condition:
Twice a month
If you are getting massages in order to relieve stress and calm anxiety, a 60-minute massage tailored for relaxation may be ideal for you. Massage therapies such as these are proven to lower cortisol levels by 30% and increase serotonin levels by 28%.
Once a week
If you are expecting, a 20-minute massage every week can dramatically reduce leg and back pain and contribute to a healthier mental state. A 15-minute massage every hour of labour can also shorten the overall time spent in giving birth and reduce the amount of medication you need to counter pain.
Twice or thrice a week
To relieve pain in the neck, try to get a 60-minute massage twice or thrice a week. If you want to lower your blood pressure and heart rate, turn those 60-minute massages to 15 to 25-minute ones with particular focus on the scalp.
Daily
For those who are suffering from dull, irritating back pain, try to get a 30-minute deep tissue massage every day for ten straight days. If the pain persists, you can extend your massage therapy up to 12 weeks.
Based on the massage style
Daily
In the beginning, both deep tissue massage and lymphatic drainage massage can be done on a client daily. However, for best results, ensure that only professionals perform these massage therapies on you since they often involve highly specific parts of the body. After the initial sessions, your therapist can recommend a frequency and duration that will be best suited to your body and your condition.
As needed
Full body massages aka Swedish massages can be done as needed. For instance, during extremely stressful months, you can go get a full body massage every week to help you feel more centred or less stressed.
Much like any other thing in life, the number of massage therapies you have to get every week or month depends on a lot of factors that are unique to you. To get the most out of this extremely relieving and relaxing activity, seek the help of a professional.
Source: By Lisa Cross
https://www.lunacourses.com/product/special-massage-package-offer/
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