How often should I get a Sports Massage?

There are a number of reasons why getting a regular sports massage can help you, but how often should you get a sport massage?

If I could get a sports massage every week, I would! But that might not always be a realistic option. Life can get in the way and its often hard to prioritise our physical wellbeing. People are sometimes more willing to spend time and money making sure their car is serviced and road worthy, than making sure our bodies are well maintained.

Investing in your body with regular sports massage sessions can lead to a range of physical and mental benefits:

• Reduced pain and tightness

• Improved range of motion and flexibility

• Improved blood flow

• Stress and tension relief

• Improved physical performance

• Enhanced recovery

• Reduced muscle soreness

• Injury prevention

• Lymphatic Drainage

• Support for everyday activities

How often should you get a sports massage? Well the answer is dependant on what you are getting the treatment for. Below is a recommended timeline for how your lifestyle or reasons for the treatment might affect your decisions.

1. Rehab / Chronic Condition: 1-3 x p/week

   If you are recovering from an injury or a long standing issue, you would be more likely to get treatment more regularly; from 1 session a week to potentially 2 or 3 sessions per week, depending on the severity.

   
   

2. Low Activity / Office Worker: Every 3 - 6 Weeks

   Someone who isn’t particularly active in terms of exercise and/or working in a job which is quite sedimentary. Common issues for desk workers would normally be neck and back pain. Following a programme in between the sessions at home or in a gym also helps to combat the issues. A programme I supplied normally after your first session.

   
   

3. Recreational / Gym Goer who exercises 1-4 x p/week: Every 2 - 4 Weeks

   You train regularly either in the gym or in sports. This is the most common demographic of clients i find visit SW Sports Therapy. This is generally a population who prioritise their bodies and health and so have regular maintenance massages to aid their recovery an performance. It also helps to prevent potential injuries and in turn allows them to train for longer periods.

   
   

4. Elite & High Performance Athlete: 1 - 2 x p/week

   This population trains with intensity and consistently. Performing to a high standard and competing regularly. This includes those involved with Athletics, Swimming, Golf, Tennis, Team Sports and even competitive dancing. I have had a number of dancers and stage performer coming into the clinic fo treatment. So it doesn’t always necessarily need to be sport related, bu a highly physically entense profession also. More sessions would be considered during peak training and/or competition season.

For anyone getting regular sports massage treatments, it is worth considering your work load. The more volume, intensity or frequency of the work load, the more often you would want to increase your recovery regime. If you are currently in the fortunate position of being injury free and training regularly, adding in a sports massage in once every 3 to 6 weeks could e the thing that helps prevents injury and aids your performance when training.

For more information, feel free to get in touch through the relevant channels. If you are interested in booking in for a session, clic ‘book now’ above.