"How often should I get a massage?" is one of the most common questions therapists hear, and the honest answer is: it depends on what you're trying to solve. But "it depends" isn't very useful on its own, so here's a practical way to think about it.

For general stress and maintenance

If you're massage-free otherwise healthy and just want to manage everyday stress and stay loose, once every 4 to 6 weeks is a sensible baseline. This is enough to prevent tension from building up significantly without becoming a major recurring expense.

For chronic tension or a desk job

If you sit for most of the day and carry noticeable tension in your neck, shoulders, or lower back, every 2 to 3 weeks tends to work better. At this frequency, a therapist can also track whether specific areas are improving or getting worse over time.

For an active recovery routine

If you train regularly — running, weights, sport — massage timed around your training load (roughly weekly to fortnightly during heavier phases) helps manage soreness and reduces the risk of overuse injuries building up unnoticed.

For an acute issue

If you're dealing with a specific problem — a stiff neck that came on suddenly, or a knot that's been getting worse — a short, more frequent course (once a week for two to three weeks) followed by a return to a maintenance schedule usually gets better results than a single one-off session.

Signs you're overdue

A few practical signals that it's been too long: you notice stiffness within the first hour of waking up, you find yourself unconsciously rubbing your own neck or shoulders during the day, or your sleep has quietly gotten worse without an obvious cause.

The honest constraint: budget and time

None of this is useful if it's not realistic for your schedule or wallet. A consistent lower frequency — even once a month — done reliably will do more for you long-term than an ambitious weekly plan that falls apart after three weeks. Pick a rhythm you'll actually keep.

If you're not sure where to start, come in for a first session and talk it through directly — most therapists, including ours, can recommend a frequency based on what they feel in the first appointment rather than guessing from a description alone.