Obviously, we’re all big fans of the healing powers of a good massage, and I love to tell you all about just how good a regular massage can make you feel. However, there are times when a massage might not be the best way forward, and so if any of these apply to you, it might be better to reschedule for when you’re feeling better!
Imagine you wake up, and everything is just tremendously sore and achy. You’ve got a sore throat, stuffy nose, you feel chilly all over and feel plain lousy. Man, that toasty warm massage table, mellow, soothing music, and a 90-minute session sounds fantastic right now! However, did you know that getting massage when you’re sick can make you MORE SICK? Here are a few things to think about.
One of the great things about a massage is that it can help to boost your circulation and also your lymphatic system. If you’re fighting off a bug, the last thing your lymphatic system needs is to be made to work harder, which is what a massage will do. It’s already busy trying to fight the germs and carry them out of your system.
Putting your body under pressure to work even harder when it’s already working as hard as it can to bring you back to health again can make you feel awful.
Think about what you typically go to get a massage. Usually it’s for upper back, lower back, neck, and shoulder work. That means you’ll be face down…in a face cradle. We all know how comfy those are; they can often make you stuffy when you aren’t sick! Now add a runny nose, sinus pressure, and potential dizziness to the mix, yea no. Just avoid it.
If you attend a massage appointment when you’re feeling under the weather, you put yourself at a higher risk of catching another bug as you’re compromising your immune system by making it work harder. The benefits are canceled out by the pressure a massage can put on your immune system.
Secondly, and there’s no delicate way of putting this, so I’m just going to come right out and say it; I don’t want your germs! Staying at home is best all round if you have something nasty because you won’t feel any better for dragging yourself out to your massage appointment, and if I catch it, I won’t be well either!
For me, an illness can be more than just an inconvenience – it could mean that I’m unable to work because I don’t want to pass the germs on to my other clients.
If you’re feeling the effects of a cold, or a virus, be kind to yourself. Cancel the massage, rest up, drink lots of chicken soup and come back when you’re fully recovered and able to feel all the positive effects of your massage treatment. Not sure if you’re well enough to make your massage appointment, you probably aren’t, but feel free to contact me before your session, and we can decide together.
So in short, be honest with yourself, and know what could potentially come from your decision to get a massage while ill:
Making yourself sicker!
Not letting your body repair and heal itself with the work it must do during the massage.
Infecting others- including your therapist!
Not being able to enjoy it as much as when you’re healthy.
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