Asked constantly, and usually answered badly. Most places say "every four weeks", which is a lovely round number that happens to suit the business rather than the person.
The real answer depends on why you came.
If you are unwinding
Every four to six weeks.
If the reason you book is that life is relentless and an hour where nothing is asked of you is worth having, monthly is about right. It is frequent enough to be something you look forward to and infrequent enough to still feel like a treat.
Some people come every couple of months and that is fine too. Nothing is lost in between.
If something specific is tight
Fortnightly to start, then space it out.
A shoulder that has been seized up for three months does not undo in one session, and honestly it does not undo in two. Two or three appointments a fortnight apart gets you somewhere; then push to monthly, then to whenever you notice it creeping back.
The goal is to need it less, not to be booked in forever. A therapist who never tells you to come less often is selling something.
If your job is physical
Every two to three weeks, during the busy stretch.
Trades, care work, hairdressing, driving, anything on your feet all day. The load is constant, so the maintenance has to be reasonably regular or you spend every appointment starting again.
If you train hard
Around the training, not on a fixed schedule.
A few days after a hard block, not the day before something that matters. Deep work can leave you slightly flat for twenty-four hours, which is fine in a rest week and unhelpful the night before a race.
What actually determines it
Three things, and none of them is a subscription:
- How much load you put on your body between appointments.
- What you do in between — moving, sleeping, drinking water. An hour a month cannot undo four weeks of sitting still.
- What you can afford. Massage every three months that you look forward to beats massage every fortnight that you resent paying for.
The honest version
Most people are fine with monthly. Some need more for a while and then less.
If you leave and feel great for two days, come more often. If you leave and feel great for three weeks, you have found your interval. That is a better guide than anything anybody can tell you in advance.
