Massage brings your body into the parasympathetic nervous system. This is our "rest and digest" state. When we are stressed, or have a lot going on in life, it's harder for our body to relax and get complete rest. By receiving a massage, you bring your body into relaxation and help restore it to its normal function.
Massage helps in many ways. It can help bring blood flow to the muscles and decrease muscle soreness. Help us to get better sleep because our body goes into the parasympathetic nervous system. It can help give you more energy because your body learns how to balance when you use energy and when you don't use as much. In some cases it can help with nausea, or digestive issues. There's a long list of everything massage can help you achieve.
Honestly, it depends on what you're receiving the massage for. If you have some really tight muscles and can handle deep pressure, then I would recommend a Deep Tissue Massage. This form of massage helps get to deeper layers of the muscles to help relieve tension. If you have tight muscles, and are looking for some basic relief and really want to find that in relaxing, I would recommend a Swedish Massage. This form of massage helps focus on restoring blood flow to your muscles, and doesn't require as much detailed work. If you're wanting a full body massage and have maybe 1 or 2 focus areas, I would recommend scheduling a Deep Tissue Massage, and discussing that you still want a full body. In that case I would do a "Combo" Massage where both Swedish and Deep Tissue are utilized.
Oftentimes, we receive a massage, and feel great for the rest of the day, but a couple days later we're having the same pain we did when we went in. There are multiple things that can help with this. First, drink lots of water immediately after your massage. This will help flush out any toxins that were released during your massage, which will help you be less sore. Second, you need to incorporate stretching into your daily routine. You can always ask your Massage Therapist what stretches they recommend for you, but stretching will help your muscles relax more and improve things in your body you didn't even know you needed. Lastly, always be communicating with your Massage Therapist how you felt after your last massage, or anything that you are concerned about. The last thing we want is for you to be in more pain than when you came in. Never be afraid to call your Massage Therapist if you feel like something is wrong.
That all depends on the plan you and your Massage Therapist decide on. Sometimes it's every other week, or once a month. Discuss with your Massage Therapist what you can afford and what you want accomplished from receiving massage. Your massage therapist wants you to find relief as well, so they will help you determine how often you should come in for a massage and what kinds of massage to get.
