Should I be getting regular massages?
Firstly, let me start by explaining my reasoning for this piece that I've written below.
As a massage therapist and recreational handbalancer with a regular weight training gym schedule, repetition makes up a large part of my day.
I see the benefits of regular massage both as a therapist and as someone who books regular massage sessions for my own health and well-being.
Here are some of my thoughts around massage regularity.
How regular is regular massage?
There's no definite answer as to what constitutes regular massage. But having carried out well over 10,000 hours of hands-on massage work, I'm going to use my experience and say that 'regular' for the benefits that I’m outlining here is roughly every 3 to 4 weeks.
We are that which we repeatedly do
One of the most common reasons I've found for clients booking a massage is to help alleviate the stiffness and discomfort that's a direct result of positioning at work. What I mean by that is that work requires repetitive movements, day in day out. In a physical job that could be a variation of pulling, carrying, lifting heavy objects or manoeuvring a dead weight.
In a sedentary office role there's a mix of typing, answering calls, sitting in meetings and the energy demands of constant online interaction and screen time.
Regardless of the role itself, the macro picture is the same: any given job usually requires a large volume of repetitive movements.
Multiply those same movements by hours, days, months, years and your body is receiving the same stimulus over and over again. It's one of the primary reasons why the same body parts present with a persistent, low-lying, chronic ache.
Two things I’d like to draw your attention to
From my own personal and professional experiences, there's two main strategies that can be used to overcome repetitive work stress.
Massage Therapy
The first mode of action is to book yourself a massage with a therapist who wants to help you help yourself. The purpose of the massage (or massages) is to apply a satisfying and beneficial pressure to your body with intention of inducing change over time. This will allow your nervous system to relax and allow the slow, gentle unwinding of muscular tension to begin.
Good things take time and physical changes are no different. It's possible to achieve outstanding results in a single session of massage but in reality real underlying change happens with greater frequency over a longer period of time.
And over time your body's needs will change too. Muscular restrictions will alter as a result of hands-on massage but bodily sensations will fluctuate based on external situations too.
Periods of stress, periods of downtime, managing illnesses, celebrating milestones: your body is never static because life itself varies. And bodies respond in accordance with those changes.
Regular massage sessions vary according to your specific needs too in order to make you feel more at home in your own body.
Longer term your massage sessions should help you to manage the discomfort that affects your day-to-day living and to help bring you physically and mentally back towards a truer version of yourself.
Movement Variation
The second mode of action is to increase and alternate your physical activity. In other words, carry out movements that get you out of your work-based positioning.
You could go to the gym and have fun experimenting with different weights in a variety of pulling, pushing, lifting and balancing movements. You could go outdoors for a walk, each time exploring a new route or a different terrain.
Are most of your communications online? Meet with a friend in-person or join a local group with a shared common interest. Go to new places, talk to people from different backgrounds. Learn a new skill.
Give your body and mind variety, not only is it enjoyable, it's good for you too!
Forced relaxation. Let me explain...
How often do you give yourself time to be present doing nothing at all?
No emails, no social media, no need to be anywhere.
Unless you actively work at building a regular meditative practice, this is a very rare occurrence in the modern world.
Like yin and yang, there's a balance to be found between chaotic to-dos and relaxing downtime. Life has its busy times but just as important are those restorative, slower moments that allow for recovery and appreciation of the here and now.
And this is another wonderful benefit to regular massage. You're making time for relaxation, and over time building a habit in which relaxation and recovery becomes a normal part of your schedule. And I cannot stress just how important and undervalued an idea this is to many people.
Working to live, not living to accommodate your postural work position
Ultimately this is why regular massage is important. Working on alleviating job stresses and helping your body work with fewer aches and pains is great and a worthy goal to aim for.
But variety, improved quality of life and appreciation of life happening right now is the ultimate driver behind all of this advice.
And your massage sessions are there to help you achieve those things. Because it takes both time and effort to actively bring about change and improvement. I promise you though, it's a worthwhile endeavour.
Ready to start implementing regular massage treatments into your life?
