How often should I be getting treatment?
With all the free information and content out there in the health & wellness industry, it can get confusing with knowing what to do and what not to do. Truth is, every body is different.
We all have different history, injuries, knowledge and needs. So is there a one size fits all when it comes to how often we should be taking care of ourselves?
Short answer: no.
Whenever a client asks me how often they should see me, I always give a ball park of 6-8 weeks. Why? First of all, I don't like to have reliant clients (you should be relying on your own home care and only use therapists as a secondary point of call!). If you don't have an active injury and you choose to come see me every week, or every two weeks, there's a couple of things I've noticed people start to do.
They get lazy, or give up on any self care at home such as prescribed exercises
They get so attached to a regular treatment, that they believe injury or bad health will form if they stop going
Both of these, obviously, are not ideal. And although this might not be the case for everyone, it is common for reliant clients.
By giving a ball park of 6-8 weeks, it allows a couple of things to happen. First, you get to see how your body has responded to the treatment. Were you sore? Did you feel you needed a recovery day or two afterwards? How did your body respond the next time you exercised? Did you perform any home care exercises?
Secondly, we get to know the length of time between treatments it takes for you to feel the need or urge for another treatment -- when your lower back starts to ache or stiffen, when your legs begin to feel heavy on your run, when your chest and shoulders feel overworked.
These two factors let the therapist or practitioner know what your body is needing and when. Of course, the longer you see a therapist, the more information and feedback you get and the better decision making you are when it comes to taking care of your body. The idea is to slowly start to extend time between treatments (unless in a training or rehabilitation phase).
So where does this leave you? Have a chat with your therapist on what their honest thoughts are when it comes to you and your wellness goals. In my opinion, there is absolutely no need to be seeking treatment more than 2 times per month (unless recovering from an injury), so keep this in mind when choosing a therapist or practitioner!