Is it Better to Get a Massage Before or After Cryotherapy?

Massages are great for your body, but they are often left behind like stretching is. For most people, the question of whether or not a massage is better before or after therapy is not as important as the question of when to fit in a massage to improve your life. To combine the benefits of massages with the benefits of cryotherapy, whether one is before or after the other will greatly improve your life than without doing them regularly.

Before

During a massage, the intent is to produce a deep sense of relaxation by alleviating as much discomfort and pain as possible. To do so, massage therapists usually dig deep into your soft tissues to produce the relaxation sought after. Since a massage’s main goal is to get you into a very deep and calmly relaxed state, it may not be helpful to have a massage before hopping into cryotherapy. To deduce this, it is best to follow the same line of thinking used for workouts, as going into cryotherapy can be seen as a very quick intense workout. Good athletes do not do relaxing stretching before their workout, as they want their muscles a bit loose but not too loose. Before a workout, athletes will do dynamic stretches which involve a bit of movement so that they are ready to walk into their workout prepared and will not hurt themselves. However, it may work well for you, so feel free to try to get a massage before cryotherapy.

After

Between getting a massage before or after a workout, getting one after will most likely work better for most people. It also is more in line with treating the therapy as a workout. Since massages are so relaxing the combination of adrenaline from cryotherapy going into deep relaxation most likely will be better. In fact, one case study of a retired marine with debilitating injuries did just that. He had tried everything under the sun to find pain relief for himself, but his muscles were always gnarled up. For eight weeks the man had a cryotherapy session followed by a massage for his tight muscles. After this routine, he completely hopped off his opioid pain medication and his pain is controlled, if not better than after being on medications. He even notes that he can walk better after the weeks of massages paired with the cryotherapy treatments.

Interested in Trying Cryotherapy?

Cryolete offers cryotherapy, hydrotherapy and more! If you are interested in scheduling your first session or want to know more please call us at (732) 455-2256.