Massages are great, but overmassaging can cause more pain than relief. This article will tell you how often you should get a massage, how long these sessions need to be, and what affects your tolerance to different massage types.
Highlights
- On average, you should get a massage once a week.
- Each full massage session should be 45 to 60 minutes.
- Daily care massages can be 10 to 15 minutes.
- It's safe to get a foot massage during pregnancy.
- Overmassaging can cause tissue, muscle, and joint damage.
Related Article: Benefits of a Calf Massage
Benefits of Massages
Massages have many physical and psychological benefits. Massaging specific body parts can also have unique effects. For example, foot massage can relieve headaches. Meanwhile, getting a massage while pregnant could significantly reduce negative reactions during the first trimester and even make your baby healthier!
Generally, the most commonly known benefits of massage are
- Promote healthy circulation
- Accelerate recovery of certain injuries (e.g.: strained muscle, bruising, nerve damage)
- Improve mobility of muscles and joints
- Pain relief
- Lower heart rate and blood pressure
- Improve immunity
- Improve energy and awareness
- Relieve stress and anxiety, and help ease depression
- Improve sleep qualities
Related Article: 6 Benefits of a Leg and Foot Massage
How Often Should I Get a Massage?
Generally, getting a massage every week isn’t a bad thing. Full reflexology treatment, shiatsu, and hot stone massages are all safe on a weekly basis. However, there are more requirements you should know if you want to benefit the most from your massages.
Massage For Knots
Frequency: daily
Duration: ~6 minutes
Put your hand on your shoulder and press against your bones. Do you hear the popping sound or feel a wave of soreness shooting out from where you pressed? That’s the knots, or bubbles, in your muscle responding to pressure.
The good news is, you can massage for knots almost everyday, but make sure to massage each muscle group for no more than 6 minutes a day to avoid causing more irritation and tissue damage.
Deep Tissue Massage
Frequency: bi-weekly to monthly
Duration: 60-90 minutes
Deep tissue massage is one of the most effective methods to relieve built-up tension. This method reaches the deeper muscle and connective tissue layers to relieve your pain and distress from the (literal) bottom.
Depending on your muscle usage intensity, most people find a bi-weekly or monthly deep tissue massage more than sufficient. However, you may benefit from deep tissue massage once a week if you're dealing with a high level of pain.
Massage for Anxiety
Frequency: once or twice a month
Duration: 10-15 minutes
A massage once or twice a month will significantly help with your anxiety issues, especially if your anxiety stems from physical exhaustion or irregular sleep. However, is not a magic cure to anxiety and depression. It only helps relieve stress by reducing physical discomfort. Speak to a professional and find out why you’re getting anxiety so you can figure out something to do for yourself.
Foot Massage
Frequency: daily
Duration: 10-15 minutes
You may have developed the habit of turning on your shiatsu foot massager for 10-15 minutes every day after work. But that doesn’t mean you can have a foot massage everyday under all circumstances.
If you go in for a full multi-course foot reflexology treatment, you should start with once a week. After a month, slow down to monthly treatments as maintenance. However, if it’s a casual home massage using a foot massage machine, daily sessions are perfectly fine.
Related Article: Foot Massage for Neuropathy Pain
Hot Stone Massage
Frequency: no more than twice a week
Duration: 10-15 minutes
Hot stone massage places heated basalt river rock on different pressure points of your body. These rocks use heat and pressure to release pain in the areas of concern. Hot stone massage is a safe massage method suitable for most individuals. However, avoid hot stone massage if you have the following conditions:
- Autoimmunce dysfunctions
- Diabetes and neuropathy
- Skin conditions/low heat tolerance
- Cancer
- Autoimmunce dysfunctions
- Recent surgeries
Neck Massage
Frequency: two to three times a week
Duration: 10-15 minutes
If you have regular neck and upper back pain, consider having two to three short neck massage sessions a week. To save on expenses, you can also consider getting a massage pillow for the neck. However, you should never use a massage gun or a percussive massager on your neck. It is extremely dangerous!
Full Body Massage
Frequency: every two to three weeks
Duration: 60-90 minutes
Get a full body massage once every two to three weeks to make sure your muscles are relaxed and your circulation is smooth. A full body massage could promote blood flow, reset your body, and even boost immunity.
You can also get a full body massage after an extreme workout as an emergency treatment as long as it doesn’t happen regularly.
Find The Best Foot Massager At Miko
Does it sound like you could use a massager at home to melt away the stress and exhaustion during the day? Shop Miko features some of the best shiatsu, vibration, and deep-kneading foot massagers. We also carry percussive massagers and massage pillows for your back and neck.
We hope you find what you want!
