What are the benefits of coming for regular Massage.

I’m Bethany Wynn, an Advanced Clinical Massage Therapist specialised in supporting bodies in Chronic pain and stress in London and the biggest question I get asked in clinic is

How often should I come for a massage and what are the benefits of it?

Whilst my first answer is always to ask the client to take into consideration their commitments, their desired outcome, their capacity, and their finances, I wanted to share some of the science around regular massage and what it benefits. Your journey through bodywork is personal and whilst massage isn’t always the answer for everybody I see in clinic, there are some fantastic research studies below to help you understand the range of benefits massage can have on your overall wellbeing.

Chronic pain and regular massage:

If we talk first about what I see the most in clinic, which is people living in chronic pain. This can range from chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions such as frozen shoulder or herniated discs, to systemic pain conditions such as Long covid, Fibromyalgia etc. We know that Clinical massage techniques on a bi weekly basis can support with increasing their range of motion, decreasing their pain, and supporting overall wellbeing. A 2016 research study brought us the impact of Massage Therapy on function on pain populations, stressed the importance of massage therapy for pain reduction and support with anxiety.

A great reminder that often it's not just about the condition, as often with chronic pain there may not be a cure, it's more about creating a soft place for that person to land. When you are living in chronic pain, working with a clinical massage practitioner who has A understanding of the condition but knowing how to support you globally can be beneficial, my chronic pain package can be found here.

Regular maintenance and stress reduction support:

This leads me onto the second biggest reason people come for regular massage is to have time for themselves, space to rest and regroup.

Massage, in particular Myofascial release massage has a huge connection to our central nervous system which helps us to enter our parasympathetic nervous system. A study in 2024 allows us to delve deeper into the fact that the power of touch has a huge impact on our mental and physical wellbeing, reducing our cortisol levels by up to 31%.

So I go back to my first question, what is it you want to get out of the treatment? If the goal is to rehab an injury or to support with daily tasks whilst living with chronic pain, studies have shown bi weekly treatments best support this. Whilst injury prevention and managing stress can vary from bi-weekly to monthly sessions.

Within my clinic in Waterloo, I see clients on varied basis for a variety of reasons and their appointment scheduled works for them for their desired outcome but also what they have capacity for.

So next time you book a massage think about what it is you want out of it and how it works for you. If you aren’t sure, then speak with your therapist, create a plan and work out together what works for you.

To book with myself in my clinic in Waterloo head here, and as a thank for reading this blog here is 10% your first 60 minute treatment with me using code WM10

Thank you

Bethany Wynn

@wynnmassage - Instagram