Should you get a massage when you are suffering from an illness?

Although massage does boost the immune system and relieve your tension, when your body is already fighting off a virus due to a cold or flu, a massage can actually make things worse.

So, massage is not usually a good idea for a few reasons.

• Histamines – When you are sick your body is producing a heavy amount of histamines. When muscles or other bodily tissues are massaged, tiny micro tears are created in your muscle tissue, just like when a person goes to the gym. This causes the body to produce even more histamines, which will make you feel even worse, or make you more sick! For instance a head cold could potentially turn into a chest infection.
• Lymphatic system – When you are sick your lymphatic system is already working overtime to help your body get rid of the bug. Massage increases circulation which releases and/or pushes metabolic waste through your lymphatic system faster than normal. When you are sick it is best to let your lymphatic system deal with the illness unimpeded.
• Contagious – We here at Salt Water we clean and sanitized rooms between clients, but most influenza and common cold viruses are airborne, which may spread to your therapist or other clients. Something we don’t want to do!

It is for these reasons that your therapist can and will likely send you home and rebook you for a later date.

Corey Darling LRMT
Lead Therapist
Salt Water Sport & Spa