In general, the frequency of massages depends on your medical condition and your goals, whether for enjoyment or for relieving body pain. If you're looking for a bit of well-being and relaxation, you can safely enjoy a relaxation massage at most, every day. You can request deep tissue massages every day, several times a week, or several times a month for pain relief. Your massage therapist can recommend a frequency and duration to address the underlying health condition caused by this type of massage.
But is it possible to have too much massage? Well, the answer is yes. Going for a massage more than once a week can be detrimental to your health. Between you and your therapist, you'll be able to determine the best frequency because the body's response is an important part of this determination. A study conducted in Korea showed that women who worked in an office experienced health benefits by receiving scalp massages for 15 to 25 minutes twice a week for 10 weeks.
Nina Cherie Franklin, one of the authors of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in physical therapy at the UIC, explained how massages can also help injured people. The American College of Physicians now includes massage therapy as a treatment for low back pain that lasts up to 12 weeks. Since massage therapy is a physical profession that requires long hours of standing, it causes massage therapists to feel physically exhausted. Massage can also cause late-onset muscle pain (DOMS), which is the same as you feel after a good workout.
If this is something you're constantly struggling with, something as simple as giving yourself a massage every day can change that. One study found that receiving a 60-minute massage two or three times a week showed more benefits for people with neck pain than receiving a 60-minute massage once a week or a few 30-minute massages a week. So if you're wondering if it's okay to get a massage every day, the answer is yes - but only if it's done correctly. The best way to respond to this is to listen to your body and talk openly with your massage therapist. It's also possible for a doctor, massage therapist, or other medical professional to teach you massage techniques to do at home on a more regular basis.
