Be aware. If this is your first massage, please be aware that you’re going to feel spaced-out after your session for about 20-30 minutes. This is normal, as the feel-good chemical (dopamine) is released in your brain. No matter if you receive a 30, 60, or 90-minute session, please take your time getting off the table as you may feel dizzy. If I were you, I would lay there for 2-3 minutes after I leave the room and take some nice, deep, cleansing breaths, because your diaphragm is the greatest lymphatic pump there is. Those nice, deep, cleansing breaths will help to get things moving. Then slowly get off the table and get dressed.
Schedule your next appointment. Please be prepared to sit down with me for 5-10 minutes after your massage to checkout and go over a treatment plan tailored to fit your needs. This is important because your body may not be “healed” in one session. Massage is a cumulative effect and thus requires a regular regimen to achieve long-term wellness. If you feel 10% better after your first session with me, then we are on the right path. During this time, I would like you to just sit and relax, and sip on some water.
Hydrate yourself. If I were you, I would take your body weight and divide it by two: that equals how many ounces of WATER you should be drinking for the next 24-72 hours after your session. Please avoid excess coffee, tea, soda, alcohol and other toxins for this time period, so you are not overloading your Lymphatic System while it is working to remove the “toxins”. Massage is like passive exercise, so “toxins” (mainly lactic acid) are released from your muscles into your bloodstream. Too much lactic acid build-up in your bloodstream can cause flu-like symptoms, especially nausea, so it is very important to hydrate yourself.
Rest. Don’t plan on doing any heavy exercise or out of the ordinary tasks for the remainder of the day if you can. I would highly recommend taking a nap, because your body is going to be in a state of change for the next 24-72 hours, and it does a wonderful job healing when it is at rest.
Apply Moist Heat. It is common after a Deep Tissue or Therapeutic Massage to experience increased pain, tenderness, or even slight bruising after the session for the first 24-48 hours, depending on what techniques were used to loosen the tissue and where it is located on your body. You might even be swearing at me and calling me unkind names, but after that pain subsides, you will more than likely be calling me wonderful names. What I love doing after a massage is to soak in a hot tub of water with Epsom Salts. Epsom Salts contain magnesium, which your muscles love magnesium, and it’s absorbed through your skin straight into your bloodstream. Plus, the hot water will help keep those tissues loose and limber. Please remember to drink WATER during this period, because with the increased heat from the water those “toxins” will be moving throughout your body at a faster rate.
Stretch. Depending on what type of massage you receive I may show you stretches that I do on a daily basis to encourage those muscles to retain their new resting length. Please note that I cannot prescribe you specific stretches, because it is out of my scope of practice, but I will be more than happy to show you what I do.
Contact me. If the pain that you experience after your massage reaches above a 7 out of 10, please call me at (216) 513-8464 or email me at nourishingmassage@gmail.com. I’m here for support if you need me.
