For years the knowledge of why people need massages has slowly become more known. Massage benefits every sort of person from house parents all the way up to top performing athletes. Benefits will vary person to person but are general y the same throughout. I would bet that at some point in your life you woke up one day and struggled to get out of bed because of that training session last night, right? Now if I told you that while you are currently experiencing DOMS (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness) this feeling could have been greatly reduced if you had a regular massage session set up. Before you get ahead of yourself I am going to answer some very frequent questions I am asked by new clients.
How often should I have a massage?
Frequency and duration of how often you should be receiving a massage is based on how often you are active weekly. This can be broken down into 3 categories:
| Frequency | Duration | |
| House Parent / Average person | 1 session per month | 30mins to 60mins |
| Active person 1-3 days a week | 1 session per 3 or 4 weeks | 60mins minimum |
|
Active person 4-7 days a week (includes triathletes) |
1 session every 2 weeks per month | 60mins minimum |
Should a session be painful?
There are really 2 answers to this question. Depending on the kind of session you are going for and what condition your body is in then yes the session can be painful, but as the patient you need to inform the therapist it is too painful and the pressure will be adjusted accordingly. In general we try to work within a 1-10 pain scale where we try to achieve a 7 on your scale as this is before the sore side and generally it is also where you experience the good sore, and these sessions should not produce painful experiences.
What benefits will I get for receiving regular massages?
Like I mentioned early that benefits vary between people but are generally the same they include the following:
- De-stress or stress reduction
- Normalised blood flow or pressure
- Reduced recovery times
- Reduced DOMS
- Faster recovery from sport injuries
But I don’t have the time to fit the sessions in
Every time I have heard this one it makes me a little more irritated. I want you to really think about this again before you really answer me. For the average person you will always have time, you just have not time managed it in yet. If you are training 1-3 days a week you still have 4 days to get a session in one. If you are active all week then yes it will be tight but again if you are trying to be a professional then you will make time for it because you understand that you require it as part of maintaining an injury free career.
Massage should form part of your schedule because of its benefits to you it will help maintain a balanced, healthy life-style. Massage should be look at as helping to prevent injuries as well as providing support to either further your performance as an athlete or prevent issues happening due to stress. Massage combined with alternate therapies can produce even better results.
This is just a small idea of how powerful massage can be and why it should form part of your monthly schedule. If there are any further questions you have please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
Regards
Chris Chilvers
Sports Massage Therapist
The Sports Massage Therapist
Body Conscious Gym
078 063 2003
chris@chilvers.co.za
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