Nope.
The End.
I just saved you an additional three minutes and forty seconds, but if you'd like to learn more about the reasoning behind this statement, read on!
I have witnessed a few interesting presumptions about colds and cases of flu since hanging my shingle as a massage therapist and business owner:
- that if symptoms are light, or if one's head just feels "a little foggy," it's still kosher to come in because the massage would probably feel soothing.
- that just because one may have what "feels like a very mild infection", it's unlikely that one's massage therapist will contract it, even though I'm touching said individual in an 8 x 12-foot space for up to 2 hours straight.
- that massage can help one "push the virus out faster" or relieve muscle aches associated with infections.
- that cloth masking will protect well against an active virus.
I think the vast majority of people know these presumptions have problems. However, allow me to elaborate.
Massage does offer a ton of therapeutic benefits, but it can be the wrong choice if you are sick.
WHY?
It could seem like there are benefits to massage when you're feeling that cold or flu coming on, like the fact that massage can ease your achiness, perhaps move congested fluid along, and deeply relax your nervous system so that your immune system can do its thing. While massage certainly offers some excellent detoxification effects, a viral or bacterial infection can move to over-tax the body's efforts to combat them. Not to mention running the risk of spreading the infection to other clients. And, since the COVID-19 lockdown, obviously, I am even more militant about minimizing the possibility of contact with pathogens that can put me entirely out of business for weeks and/or leave any client sans massage.
At my Studio, I take 30 minutes to an hour to thoroughly sanitize using antiviral cleaning solutions. I wipe down surfaces, wash and bleach linens, run a HEPA air purifier, ventilate the room, etc. In between clients, I wash hands, religiously, gargle with Listerine, and often do nasal lavage. I always mask while near a client's upper extremities and can do so the entire time upon request. However, I trust none of this against someone with an active virus who has visible symptoms.
You see, the scientific variable that is considerably harder to control for in all of this is a person's individual immune system. In addition to masking, cleaning, and the private conversation between you and your physician around COVID vaccination recommendations, there are some uncomfortable truths. Alas, even apparently non-existent viral thresholds can result in symptoms appearing later depending on your ability to fight it. So, we do the best we can. Only you can decide the level of risk you wish to take, based on what you know about yourself or your loved one with multiple comorbidities that you wish to protect.
It's not 100% airtight, but it's as fool-proof as we can make it short of wearing bubble suits for all eternity.
Therefore I am most interested in assessing that:
- A client is apparently asymptomatic and feels quite well when they walk in the door
- A client has not had recent contact with anyone else who is symptomatic or has had a positive test/contact for viral infection recently.
The World Is Full Of Bad Ideas..
Toilet Paper Helmets Are Probably One Of Them.
Getting a Massage When Your Sick Is A Close Second.
Should You Get Massage When Sick?
Just Say No.
1. If you have any symptoms like nausea, fever, stuffy nose, foggy head, or any other cold/virus/flu-like symptoms, please stay home!
2. If you are aware that you have had contact with any infection-positive folks and have been in the 8-10 day window that symptoms could still appear, again, please stay home.
In my 10+ years of practice, I have had three incidents of a client coming in with a mid-massage discovery that they knew they had a contagious viral infection. I was not amused because they knew they were pretty sick beforehand. Those clients have mysteriously found themselves unable to get future appointments.
If you might be contagious or have been recently in contact with a contagion, please do the right thing for you, me, and everyone in general.
Stay home, enjoy some hot chicken soup, and get some rest until you are fully recovered.
Yours In Good Health,
Anna Bennett, MS, LMT
Therapeutic Massage of Williamsburg
www.therapeuticmassageofwilliamsburg.com
By Appointment Only, 757-585-5981