When you’re feeling under the weather, the idea of a relaxing massage might sound incredibly appealing, especially if you’re experiencing aches and pains. However, it's important to consider whether it's safe and beneficial to get a massage when you have a cold. As a general rule, it is highly recommended to avoid massage when you have a cold or any other illness, particularly if it is contagious.
Why You Should Avoid Massage When Sick
There are several compelling reasons to postpone your massage appointment when you're feeling unwell:
Risk of Spreading Illness
One of the primary reasons to avoid massage when sick is the risk of exposing your massage therapist and other clients to your illness. As tempting as it may be to seek comfort during illness, it is best to completely avoid personal appointments (except medical appointments). If you go for a massage while sick, you will be exposing the massage therapist, and through that, will be exposing alllll the other clients for that day, as well as the therapists family/friends/coworkers/all their coworkers clients.
Massage typically takes place in a small enclosed room running at a warmer temperature than usual. Viruses love that! Aside from small fans and the possibility of an air purifier, there are no open windows for ventilation. An hour session is a long time for a virus to spread not only to the therapist, but all the objects housed in the room. Clients coming in right after are then susceptible for being contaminated by the spreading of that same virus.
Potential to Worsen Symptoms and Hinder Healing
Massage has the potential to slow down normal healing; your body is already working overtime to heal and is under stress. When you're sick, your body is doing everything it can to fight the illness. Your immune system is complex and includes your major organs, your circulatory system, and your lymphatic system. When you have a massage, your body receives input by way of pressure, heat, and movement - and these things combined may hinder your body's ability to combat an infection, and move waste through your lymphatic channels and gut.
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What’s more, massage can be painful when you’re ill as your body is often more sensitive to the touch during this time. Getting a massage when you're sick can also produce inflammation, especially if a therapist uses a technique called friction to break up adhered tissue (i.e., knots). "While this is great for relieving tight, sore muscles, when you are sick, you don't want to create any more inflammation," explains Kristy Zadrozny, a licensed massage therapist and certified labor doula based in New York City. Your body is already hard at work fighting external pathogens, which themselves can cause inflammation throughout the body when you're sick, so you don't want to provide more fuel to that fire.
Additionally, if you have a cold, laying face down for an extended period of time may exacerbate any congestion you’re experiencing.
Post Massage Soreness & Malaise (PMSM)
Deep tissue massage is known to cause Post Massage Soreness & Malaise (PMSM). All that being said, if you think you’re coming down with a cold, massage may bring it on faster as it can spread the pathogens throughout your lymph nodes. If a massage occurs at the onset of a bad cold, hang on - the cold’s intensity will happen in 3-4 days vs. spread out over 7-14 days.
What About Massage for Cold Symptoms?
If you get a cold, massage therapy can provide relief from symptoms like sinus pressure, congestion, and body aches. When it comes to cold symptoms, myofascial release and deep tissue massage can help calm the body aches and pains you feel once you get sick. As for sinus congestion, trigger point therapy can be quite helpful. By massaging trigger points in the face, head, and neck, a massage therapist can help facilitate sinus drainage and provide relief from pressure buildup that can cause sinus headaches. Massage therapy can also help improve circulation in the body, which may help your immune system fight the virus that causes the common cold. Moreover, massage therapy can provide a boost to your immune system so that it’s at full strength, reducing the severity and duration of cold symptoms.
When Is It Safe to Get a Massage After a Cold?
If you’re on your way to recovery you might think it a good idea to book a massage to help you feel better. But, it would be best to hold off until you have completely recovered. How Long Should You Wait to Get a Massage Once You're Better? Most common upper respiratory viral infections run their course in a few days to two weeks, and many people feel better in that time and are likely not contagious anymore, says Dr. Heinert. This means, if you feel okay, it's been five-plus days, and have no symptoms, you can book that massage. Bear in mind, however, that some common symptoms of a cold, such as fatigue, phlegm and coughing, can last for weeks after you start to feel better.
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As for bacterial infections, when you can return for a massage depends on what you were dealing with, which greatly affects the level of possible transmission. For example, if you had a UTI that cleared up after antibiotics, there's no problem with going in for a massage. But if you had a respiratory infection, for example, there's no way to accurately determine when you're no longer contagious. So, you'd want to avoid close encounters with others, which includes that massage table, for as long as you're still on antibiotics, says Dr.
The Massage Therapist's Responsibility
As we enter the depths of the cold and flu season, massage therapists have an extra responsibility to their clients, communities, and themselves to prevent the spread of harmful germs and bacteria. We come in close contact with multiple people throughout our work day, which makes it especially easy to spread cold and flu-causing viruses.
Hygiene Practices for Massage Therapists
While it may seem obvious, keeping your hands clean is the easiest way to prevent the spread of cold-causing viruses. Luckily, frequent hand washing is the most effective method of preventing those viruses and bacteria from transferring to you (and then to your clients). Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. You should also avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth during or after a massage until you can wash your hands. In lieu of hand washing, it’s okay to use hand sanitizing gel throughout a massage session as needed but, it should never replace regular hand washing.
Studio and Equipment Sanitation
Another technique you can employ during cold and flu season is to take extra care in cleaning your massage studio and equipment. Besides always changing your linens after each client, clean the entire massage table after each session. Use a commercially available disinfecting wipe or a spray with bleach solution of 1 Tbsp of bleach to 1 Qt of water. Sanitize and wipe down the entire surface of your massage table and face cradle after every session.
Wellness Agreement
One easy way to convey this information to your clients up front is to enter into a “Wellness Agreement” with them as part of their initial sign up. “Wellness Agreement: If I am sick, I will call and reschedule my massage appointment so that I do not transmit my illness to my massage therapist or their other clients.
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Vaccinations
Finally, viruses are everywhere and the average adult gets 2-3 colds per year. Even if you follow the above guidelines, regular flu shots and other vaccinations should be maintained and up-to-date.
General Guidelines
The advice in this article, while specific to colds, can also be applied to sickness in general. If you’re already nauseas, even slightly - stay home. The best rule of thumb is be cognizant of what you have and decide accordingly. If your body is aching for touch and the schedule allows you for the possibility of being down in bed for a day or two afterwards, keep the appointment. If your skin is already sensitive to touch and fever is involved, a nice hot bath and bed rest may be the better option.