Rubbing Out a Cold

“If I have a cold should I keep my massage appointment?” is a question that I hear often. The answer is yes and no. In the beginning when the body is mounting its defense again the bad bacteria, massage can make things worse. If circulatory massage is applied (i.e. Swedish, Deep tissue, Lymphatic Drainage…) it can speed up and push those bad bacteria every where before your body has had time to mount its defense against them. Now on the flip side, if you are over the hump and your body is at the point when you are winning the battle then massage can be a great thing because it will spread those white blood cells (your body’s attack team) far and wide to engulf the little nasty ones. What this means is you might be fine after a day or two after the massage instead of three or four days or who knows how long. Clients who get a massage at the right time might feel yucky for a day then perfectly fine. Also with congestion, massage has tricks to break free the phlegm and get it out of the lungs. Having a massage is health care.