Here's why you shouldn't get a massage after drinking alcohol - Chicago Tribune

[massage]

Don't schedule that relaxing Saturday-morning massage the day after partying.

Why? Think of what happens right after you get a massage. Usually, the therapist will offer you water.

That's because when you get a massage, you often feel dehydrated.

So coming to a massage hung over, when your body may already feel that way, isn't your best bet.


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"Massage moves fluids in the body," said Dennis Frymire, a therapist at Massage Envy in Chicago. "If you are dehydrated, that is only going to heighten the feeling of dehydration after."

In other words, you might feel even more hung over.

"I will have someone come in, and they will say that they have been drinking the night before and that they are hung over," he said.

So rethink that idea of the spa the morning after boozing. Also, when you plan a weekend away, if you're making dinner reservations as well as spa reservations, put a lot of time in between.

"You may feel great during the massage, but it may heighten your feelings of being hung over after the massage," Frymire said.

Especially steer clear of something like a deep-tissue massage.

"After you get a deep-tissue massage, there's always a bit of muscle soreness," he said. "That's natural."


But a body filled with booze will amplify that soreness.

Also, Frymire notes that a massage should be enjoyable.

"We don't want someone to walk away having had a bad experience with a massage," he said.

Drink plenty of liquids. And give yourself an easy schedule before and after the massage.

Often, he said, clients come in rushed, saying, "I'm so sorry. I've just got to send this one work email."

"As soon as they come out of the massage, they're right back on their phone," he said.

Wear comfortable clothes to slip back into, he advised, to continue the feeling of being blissed out.

"That's only going to help the massage last even longer," he said.

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