Post-Massage Care
Massage can elicit a lovely, floaty, and euphoric state. In order to
maximize these sensations, please follow the guidelines below.
- Take a short walk after your massage, preferably before getting in your car, to assimilate all the changes that have taken place in your body. We opened up your joints and encouraged your soft tissues - fascia and muscles - to effortlessly glide against one another. Allow your arms to swing, your hips to glide, feeling a rotation in your spine with each step, and otherwise notice any changes you may feel in your body. This does not need to be a vigorous walk. Think leisurely stroll. Use this time as a moving meditation, paying attention to how the soles of your feet make contact with the ground. Feeling more grounded in your feet may allow you to return to your ordinary routine a bit quicker.
- Drink water: Boost your water intake for the next few hours after your massage: up to 16 ounces an hour for four hours. In addition, a good rule of thumb for daily water intake is to drink as much water in ounces as half your weight in pounds. For example, if you weigh 100 pounds, drink at least 50 ounces of water per day. As the human body is roughly 70% water by volume, drinking water by our weight will help us replenish what's lost through sweat, urination, and elimination, and reduce chances of dehydration.
- Be gentle with your body in the first 24 to 48 hours post-massage. I advise avoiding strenuous exercise, including overstretching or yoga. Allow your body to incorporate its new sensations and regain knowing where it is in space. Remember that we worked to subtly remodel your tissues, and it takes a bit of time to allow any changes to settle into a new state.
- Get a good night's sleep to help integrate and heal the body after a massage.
- Use hydrotherapy, or hot and cold water to keep things moving. I recommend a warm or hot bath followed by a cool shower. If you're bold and courageous, a hot shower followed by the coldest shower water you can muster can feel quite invigorating! Think Scandinavian sauna and ice swimming! Repeat up to three times.
- For specific areas of concern, use Cold-Hot-Cold Therapy (Vascular Flush) in a 1:2:1 time ratio. Apply a cold pack for 5 minutes, followed by a hot pack for 10 minutes, and once again followed by a cold pack for 5 minutes. A vascular flush brings more blood to the area so the blood can carry away debris and waste products and bring in nutrients and cells for repair. And I must say, it feels great!
- Be sure to add a layer, such as a towel, between the skin and hot or cold pack. The skin could be burned otherwise.
- Using heat is a less-is-more sort of scenario: Avoid using a heat pack on any area for more than 10 minutes or you risk inflaming that area. Do NOT use heat on an inflamed (hot, painful, red, swollen) injury.
- While it is normal to be mildly sore in areas where specific work was performed, it is not normal to be in pain post-massage. If you experience pain after the massage, please call me. I may be able to recommend specific stretches or additional techniques for you, or refer you to another healthcare practitioner, as may be indicated.