Massage could make illness worse!

Have you ever thought about getting a massage while you're sick?

Maybe the joint and muscle pain that often accompanies a fever has made you really keen to receive some relief.

The reality is that massage when you're acutely unwell with a cold or flu might make your illness worse.

When your body is fighting an infection, the lymphatic system works to localise the infection at sites of lymphatic nodes.

Think about how your throat swells up with the flu, this is just one area of prominent lymph nodes.

Other areas with lots of lymph nodes include your jaw, neck, stomach, armpits and groin.

If you stimulate the circulation of lymphatic fluids too much while you're acutely sick, you disrupt the body's process of localisation and destruction of pathogens.

When you've been infected with any kind of pathogen like a virus or bacteria, your lymphatic system works to gather up the pathogens and localise them in your lymph nodes, where the  immune cells in the nodes can attack the foreign cells.

If the pathogens are not localised and dealt with in the lymph nodes, they will continue to circulate the body and cause harm.

Additionally, lying face down for a while can be particularly irritating when you have a stuffy nose or a tickle throat.

Importantly too, your therapist or their subsequent patients entering the room, might be at risk of catching any contagious infection you have, even just through particles in the air.

When you're sick, you might have less tolerance to pressure, making you perceive the massage session as more painful.

Deep pressure will likely be less tolerated, and micro levels of inflammation caused by any deep friction massage, will be felt more intensely. 

Next time you consider receiving a massage while you're sick, I have a few options for you;

- Firstly, if you have specific points of pain, try a gentle self massage technique, mobilisation, or very gentle muscle activation for just a minute or two.

- If self massage and mobilisation doesn't relieve the pain, consider some heat, but also factor in if you've got a fever, and how well you're able to tolerate different temperatures.

- Especially if you do have a fever, just take paracetamol or ibuprofen. I know we don't want to take too many medications if we can avoid it, but sometimes it's the better option.

- Wait until you've fully recovered with zero symptoms, and you're back to your regular day-to-day activities, and then book in your next massage.