How often should you get a massage? An honest guide

One of the questions we hear most often at Resolution is some version of: "How often should I really be coming in?" The honest answer is that it depends on what you're trying to accomplish — and a therapist who gives you a one-size-fits-all answer isn't paying attention to your body.

If you're working through an acute problem

When you come in with a specific complaint — a shoulder that won't release, low back pain that flares every time you sit too long, a running injury in recovery — closely spaced sessions usually work better than occasional ones. Muscle tissue and movement patterns respond to repetition. For most acute issues we suggest weekly or every-other-week sessions for the first few visits, so each treatment can build on the last instead of starting over.

If you're managing a chronic condition

For long-term conditions — recurring tension headaches, fibromyalgia, old injuries that act up — the goal shifts from fixing to managing. Most of our chronic-pain clients settle into a rhythm of every two to four weeks. The right interval is the one where you come in before the symptoms fully return, not after they've taken over your week.

If massage is maintenance

Plenty of people simply feel and move better with regular bodywork, the same way they feel better exercising consistently. For maintenance, monthly is the most common cadence we see, and it's enough for most people to hold on to the gains from previous sessions.

A practical way to find your number

• Notice how long the benefit of a session lasts. Three days? Two weeks? That tells you your current interval.

• Book your next session just inside that window, and see whether the benefit lasts longer. For most people it does — improvement compounds.

• Re-evaluate seasonally. Training cycles, work stress, and sleep all change what your body needs.

Your therapist should be helping you figure this out, not just rebooking you on autopilot. If budget is a factor, say so — an honest plan you can sustain beats an ideal plan you'll abandon. That's also why we keep online booking simple: you can book a single session whenever your body tells you it's time.