How Often Is Massage Therapy Recommended?
Hello! My name is Heather Alison Cook and I own Yarrow and You Therapeutic Bodywork in Aurora, Oregon, not far from the surrounding towns of Wilsonville, Canby, and Woodburn. I have been a Licensed Massage Therapist for over 11 years and aim to help people feel their best in their bodies. Some of the techniques I use to do this are Myofascial/Structural Bodywork, Swedish Massage, Polarity Therapy, Craniosacral Therapy, Cupping, and Hot Stones. I also often guide clients to use their breath to encourage tension to be released in areas. And today we will discuss the most popular question: “How often should I get a massage?”
Massage Therapy treats your body uniquely
This is the million-dollar question and the answer is as unique as you are. No two bodies are the same. Even if two people have the same injury, they will present with a slight to drastic difference in pain, alignment, range of motion, and ability to use that part of the body. I like to say that modern allopathic medicine “parts” our body out; it calls this an arm and that the ribcage and that down there the pelvis… In my studies in biomechanics, where we look at the alignment of the bones, muscles, tissues, organs, and structural bodywork, where we look at the fascial planes and patterns, the arm, ribcage, and pelvis are in fact moving in sync and are really not separate parts. The fascia itself is continuous and connects all of our named parts together. So at times, I think of the whole body as one part. What is happening at your feet and the lower leg does affect what is happening up above, even all the way up to your neck. So, that previously mentioned arm is literally connected to the ribcage by muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, nerves, etc, and the arm is also connected to the pelvis by some of the same fascial lines and some of the same muscles. There is no separating them at that level. What is happening in one, affects the other and vice versa. I like to bring this perspective to clients so that they can see that it might not be just the part of the body that is in pain causing the issue but in fact, other parts of the body have a relationship and sometimes a responsibility for where the pain is being felt.
Okay, so now that I have you seeing the “bigger picture” of how the body is literally connected and how the pain felt in one area of your body might actually be originating from pressure or misalignment in another part of your body, you might be able to see how getting regular bodywork from a skilled practitioner can help the whole body and/or the areas that are problematic. This is my overarching approach now after working on thousands of folks, studying biomechanics, and fascial planes, and receiving regular bodywork myself. Injuries, surgeries and other traumas to the body have a definite part to play in how areas of the body sync up properly or not and most of us have experienced one, if not all of these in our lifetime. I would say that getting regular bodywork is the key.
How often you come in for bodywork depends on your situation
Depending on whether you have a chronic condition that has been years or decades in the making or if you have a fall or accident that has caused an acute condition to surface will determine how we might want to proceed with how often you come in. Sometimes if someone is in a auto accident or other severe incident we might want to address the tissues of the body 2 times a week to help get things calmed down. If you have ongoing or chronic pain in your low back or neck for instance, coming in once per month might be all you need. If you are actively doing Physical Therapy after a surgery, for instance, once a week is often a good time frame as it allows your exercises to strengthen and the bodywork to help release tension in areas which can speed recovery. If you have a stressful moment in your life, coming in every two weeks to maintain healthy levels of self-care is one way to think about it.
We consider our goals for massage therapy
As you can see, the answer to this question, “How often should I get a massage?” is as adaptive as your body is. We need to consider what our goals are, how much pain we are in, how our body responds to the treatment that was given, how our overall health is, how improvement is going, and what our budget is. As a farmer, massage therapist, and martial arts practitioner, I move my body a lot. Personally, I get regular bodywork about three times a month which includes manual therapy, craniosacral, acupuncture, and sometimes chiropractic care. But I also stretch daily, do restorative exercises to keep my body strong and meditate to keep my mind strong and stress levels down, and have other tools in my tool basket to release tension in tight areas. There are many resources on my website on how to keep a healthy movement lifestyle to keep your body and mind aligned and strong.
Consistency in receiving massage therapy is key
So when we discuss how much you might want to be coming in for bodywork the answer might change depending on how you feel. It is all about what is going on in your body and that can even change from week to week. Some clients come once a week or once a month consistently and find that consistency is the key. It’s like a promise you make to your Self, and when you keep your own self-care at the forefront the body knows it is going to receive the care and downtime it needs. My aim is to help you find optimal health and well-being in the Whole of You. Bodywork brings us into our body where I believe true healing can occur. Let’s talk about it!
Think about your goals for massage therapy
Remember that receiving therapeutic bodywork on a regular basis is what can help us keep our bodies like fine-tuned machines! Again, looking forward to seeing you on the table and in my office! Yarrow and You Therapeutic Bodywork is located two doors down from the White Rabbit Cafe in Historic Downtown Aurora. You can book here.