Heidi Overman, Licensed Massage Therapist, #MT-24997
Most of my clients ask me, “How often should I get a massage?” This can be a tough question.
Because our bodies have gone through different things—we have all had different levels of exercise, different jobs, and adventures through the years—the type of bodywork and how regularly can differ.
I like to approach this question more generally and then narrow it down to specifics.
If you are in your twenties through forties and perfectly healthy, minimally, a massage every few months would be great. Your massage would help relieve stress and tightness—checking in with the muscles to make sure your muscles stay flexible and healthy.
If you are in your fifties and sixties and perfectly healthy, minimally, a massage once a month should be perfect for you. Your monthly massage will help to keep your muscles flexible and lengthened as you age, and the muscle memory and patterns start to really set in.
If you are older than seventy, minimally, a massage twice a month is optimal. This will keep your muscular pain to a minimum and keep you active and flexible.
Healthy muscles are key in aging and help keep your body agile, mobile, pain free, and flexible.
Many times, clients come once a week for a massage. Generally, this is needed when there are issues such that the muscles are embedded with poor patterns from repetitive motion, injury, car accident or falls, pain, or other issues. We need to break those muscular patterns and teach them how to release and relax again. Frequent massage will teach those muscles how to release for longer and longer periods of time, which will allow for massage every other week, then twice a month, and eventually once a month.
This can be a process that takes time depending on how your muscles respond to the work and the years of repetitive motion or injuries we are working out.
Many of my clients come in once a week because they see and feel a dramatic difference in their quality of life with more frequent massages. Yes, once a month would be just fine, however more frequent massage has helped them feel even better and helped with their whole well-being.
Massage can help in many aspects of life: sleep, anxiety, emotional well-being, lowering blood pressure, injury prevention, stress levels, body awareness, and more. How often you receive a massage can have a significant impact on how successful you are in living a balanced, pain-free life.
If you are interested in a therapeutic massage, call me for an appointment at 520-771-1514. My website is www.mymendingplace.com and I’m located at MEND Massage Therapy and Restorative Skincare at 15920 N. Oracle Road, Ste. 170 Tucson, AZ 85739 (next to the Golden Goose Thrift Shop).