You wake up, your throat is scratchy, your nose is blocked, and there's a massage in your calendar for six o'clock. The first thought is “that's exactly what I need right now”. The second is “is that a good idea?” Both feelings make sense, and the answer depends on which stage of the cold you're in.
This piece isn't a substitute for a doctor. But the question “can I get a massage when I have a cold?” has a fairly clear answer, and it mostly comes down to three things: whether you have a temperature, whether you're contagious, and how you feel lying on the table.
A fever is a sign that your body is fighting an infection right now and needs all its energy for it. Massage boosts circulation and relaxes you, but afterwards your body needs time to settle. When you're ill, that settling uses up strength you need for recovery, so after a massage you often feel worse, not better: tired, run-down, with a stronger headache.
On top of that, it's hard to enjoy anything with a fever. Your body is sensitive, your skin can hurt to the touch, and chills alternate with sweating. A massage you can't properly feel isn't worth the appointment.
The general rule with viral infections is to return to normal activities only once you've been fever-free for at least 24 hours without taking medicine that brings the temperature down. The same goes for massage.
You're contagious. A cold spreads most easily in the first days, when you're sneezing and coughing. Your therapist spends half an hour to an hour a hand's width away from you, and other clients come in after you. If you come in ill, you risk your therapist cancelling other people's appointments next week.
Lying face down with a blocked nose isn't relaxing. With your face in the table's face rest, mucus drains, sinus pressure builds and breathing through your nose becomes a struggle. Many people spend the last part just waiting to turn over.
Your body is busy. Just as with a fever: in the acute phase your body doesn't need another task, it needs sleep, fluids and quiet.
This is the question we hear most often, and the honest answer is no. A few small studies have recorded changes in some immune markers and stress hormone levels after massage, but none show that massage prevents a cold or shortens it. Massage reduces tension and helps you sleep better, and sleep does matter for recovery. Still, once your throat is scratchy, an early night will do more for you than a six o'clock appointment.
And since the first day of symptoms is often the day you're most contagious, that's one more reason to move your appointment.
Once the fever is gone and you're back at work, a cold often leaves its mark on the body. After a few days of coughing, your shoulders, neck and the muscles between your ribs tighten. Lying in bed stiffens your back. And your head feels heavy from blocked sinuses and poor sleep.
That's when a massage really helps: it relaxes muscles that have been working hard through days of coughing, gives your neck back its movement and helps you sleep properly for the first time in days. We described the same pattern in our piece on why cold weather brings a stiff neck.
But during recovery we go gentler. Firm, deep pressure after an illness can leave you tired and sore, because your body isn't at full strength yet. A better choice is a gentle full-body relaxing massage, or a targeted back, neck and shoulder massage if what bothers you most is what the coughing tightened. And if your nose is still blocked, a foot massage is done while you lie on your back, so there's no pressure on your sinuses.
If a cold catches you before a booked appointment, let us know as soon as you can. Moving your appointment is always free with us, and we'd rather see you healthy next week than ill today. You can move it through the link in your confirmation email, or give us a call. If you really need to cancel, cancellation is free up to 12 hours before the appointment. The sooner you tell us, the easier it is to find a new time that suits you.
When you're ill, rest. When you're well, come for a massage. Between those two moments there's a window when massage genuinely helps, and that's the week after a cold, when your body still carries the traces of coughing, lying in bed and poor sleep.
Runway Massage studio is at Golubačka 1 in Vračar and is open Monday to Saturday. Every treatment comes with a warm drink, slippers and a complimentary foot massage. Prices are in our price list, and once you've recovered you can book a free slot online in a couple of minutes.
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