Expectations for a 60 minute full-body massage

The 60 minute massage is arguably the #1 booked treatment in the spa industry. In 2015 a survey showed that 52% of people who had a massage were going for medical reasons, 19% for pain, 15% for soreness/spasms, 11% for injury and rehabilitation, while only 11% of those surveyed went for pampering reasons, 35% to relax, 5% to keep healthy and 1% for prenatal. Just as the study showed that the majority of people were coming in for pain, injury or medical reasons we have found that to be fairly accurate with our clientele as well.

In a world of instant gratification setting realistic expectations with a trip to the spa or to see a massage therapist is crucial for desired outcomes. Getting the most out of your massage treatment takes communication between both client and therapist to achieve your session goals. Today we want to give you our tips and recommendations to use during your next visit to the spa so you can book the appropriate treatment to meet your needs.

Reality

When beginning a treatment, the most commonly used phrase a Massage Therapist hears from clients when they ask what their client would like worked on is, “A full-body massage.” Let’s take a minute to break down what a 60 minute massage allows your therapist to do if you want a full-body massage. Keep in mind this breakdown is for a full 60 minute treatment as offered at our spas, a lot of franchised spas and therapists will only be working for 50 minutes and allow 10 minutes for the client to change pre and post massage.

If you decide to change in the room or if a 50 minute massage is what is offered where you are going then you’ll want to exclude one of the 10 minute areas mentioned below or shorten the time given to all areas by a few minutes.

Average 60 Minute “Full-Body”Massage:

• 20 Minutes on the back
• 10 Minutes for working the back of both legs (approx. 5 minutes each)
• 10 Minutes for the front of both legs & feet (approx. 5 minutes each)
• 10 Minutes for the arms
• 10 Minutes for the neck, scalp and face

Tips

As you can see the time given for each area is very limited, especially if you are coming in for a medical reason, pain relief or for a rehabilitative bodywork treatment or massage. There is little room for a therapist to deviate from one area and add to the time given in another area and still give their client a full-body massage.

Because of the time restraints a therapist is limited to we highly recommend only booking a 60 minute treatment if you have no major areas of concern, don’t want detailed bodywork and are happy with a true Swedish massage, aka “fluffy massage”.

If you want detailed bodywork that provides results and you only have 60 minutes then we suggest you pick 2-3 areas you want your therapist to focus on. Your therapist will be able to truly help you make improvements if they don’t feel the rush of satisfying a full-body massage request with the very limited 60 minutes allotted.

What a 60 minute massage is good for:

• Someone who has never had a massage before
• A full body Swedish “fluffy” massage, or
• 2-3 areas worked in detail with varying techniques (Trigger Point, Swedish, Deep Tissue, etc.) depending on clients touch preference

What we recommend:

If you are coming in for a treatment and you want a full body massage along with specific detailed work to aid in rehabilitation or pain we highly recommend booking a minimum of 90 to 120 minutes with your therapist for best results. Detailed full bodywork can truly help the body repair and restore so you can start feeling better. Additionally if  improvements on your condition or medical issue are crucial  your therapist may recommend a few treatments closer together before spacing out your sessions.

Our goal at Summit is to only need to see you once a month for a 90 or 120 minute massage, those are maintenance level treatments to keep your body performing as it should. Any adult or teen who is competitively training or competing may need additional bodywork or float sessions during a month to keep up with the physical demands placed on their body.

Examples:

Some of the most common ailments we work with regularly are people suffering with migraines and headaches, low back pain, rounded shoulders or shoulder pain, carpal tunnel, and those who are post knee surgery. The list could go on, but I want to demonstrate what a 60 minute treatment targeting some of these issues might look like when a client requests specific work. Obviously each client is different so these are just examples of what areas we would chose to spend our time on with a client experiencing the symptoms related to these medical issues.

Migraines and headaches:

• 30 Minutes on the back
• 15 Minutes on the neck
• 15 Minutes on the scalp and face

Low back pain:

• 30 Minutes on the back
• 10 Minutes on the glutes
• 10 Minutes on the back of the legs
• 10 Minutes working on the psoas

Rounded shoulders or shoulder pain:

• 20 Minutes on the back
• 20 Minutes on the arms and pectoral muscles
• 20 Minutes on the neck

At Summit Spa & Float we strive to create an atmosphere that will allow you to RELAX – REPAIR – and RESTORE your body. Regardless of the amount of time you spend with us we appreciate that you chose us to help you achieve your health goals and thank you for allowing us the opportunity to work with you.