How often should you get a massage for knots?
Have you ever wondered how often you should get a massage to remove the knots in your back, neck and shoulders? Should you get them regularly or sparingly? Do you need a hard or soft massage for knots (also called Myofascial Trigger Points)?
Massages have a vast array of wonderful benefits that you can enjoy and there are many different types of massages, each with a different set of benefits. At our Crawley massage centre, we offer traditional Chinese, Thai, and Swedish massage, alongside sports massage and head massage, to keep you firing on all cylinders.
As each of these massage techniques is different, with different levels of intensity it is recommended that you get them done at different levels of frequency. This is also going to vary per everyone’s personal needs, but we can provide a general guideline to help you determine how often you should get a massage and what massage is best for removing knots.
Chinese massages for overall health & wellbeing
If you’ve never had an authentic Chinese massage in you are in for a treat. Chinese massage (also called Tui Na Massage) is a firm massage that is designed to help circulation and reduce muscular and joint pain. If you are looking for a nice relaxing massage at a day spa then Chinese massage isn’t for you.
Tui Na Massage involves a variety of hand and arm techniques to massage and realign your muscles, bones, ligaments, and tendons. The methods you will experience include firm kneading, pressing, rolling, shaking, and stretching. Like acupuncture, Tuina focuses on stimulating specific pressure points in the body.
Gentle massages to relieve stress
If you’re under a lot of stress, whether from your job, home or personal life, a Swedish massage is a magical form of stress relief. Some people find that having a bi-weekly massage is beneficial to them, not only because the massages themselves help reduce stress, but because it gives them something to look forward to which can help them in their day to day lives. Even facial massages have many benefits.
Sports massages for athletes
Athletes need massages for a variety of reasons, whether to help a torn muscle heal or to help alleviate any knots or tightness caused by a lot of running around or lifting weights. Sports massages (similar to authentic Chinese massage) are perfect for this, and they target the specific area that is in need of help, knot removal and pain management. However, to ascertain just how many times you need a sports massage, you’ll have to see what your therapist recommends and what you can fit into your training schedule to work around your specific sport.
Massages for pain management
Living with pain can be exhausting, but thankfully a professional massage can help ease any pain and discomfort. If you are in pain from an injury and want to reduce and manage your pain, massage therapy is the perfect way to do this. Deep tissue massage can be a great way to alleviate knots and pain in a certain part of your body. Although, as pain management and the severity of your pain will vary from person to person, the frequency of your massages will have to be decided on by your massage therapist and yourself. If you’re in a severe amount of pain, weekly massages may be a good idea at the beginning, with a gradual transition to bi-weekly and then monthly massage sessions.
Can you get too many massages?
While massages are a great tool for managing stress, improving mood, increasing overall quality of life, you can actually get massaged too often. The recommended maximum amount is once a week, unless you are dealing with intense pain or have a recent injury that needs to be taken care of. Overextending your muscles and loosening them too much can be detrimental to muscle growth, regeneration, and health.
Getting a massage every week or every other week is perfectly safe but be wary of going too often. As a rule of thumb, if you are getting a massage for stiffness, soreness or muscle pain and are not in need of intense pain management, you should come get massaged when your body starts to feel sore. By listening to your body, you can rest assured that you are taking care of yourself and your muscles.
If you have any more questions about the type of massage you need, or how often you should come get massaged, do not hesitate to get in touch with us and one of our professional masseurs will be more than happy to assist you.
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