Once the shot is delivered into your muscle, you want that vaccine to move out of the muscle into your bloodstream to start to educate your immune system at a certain rate. Massage can increase the blood flow, taking the vaccine out of the muscles and into the bloodstream faster than it was designed. In addition, immune systems vary greatly from one person to the next. We recommend no massages until at least 10 days after your vaccine to ensure the best result for your body and your health.

No. Medica does not offer sessions to any clients that are exhibiting the signs of an active cold or flu. When you’re feeling sick and achy it might sound like a great time to come in for a massage and have your aches and pains soothed by healing hands. But, it's actually a really bad idea.

First, there is the risk of infecting your therapist who most likely will be seeing other clients during the day which in turn increases the risk of cross infecting others despite our best sanitation efforts.

• It’s possible to spread a virus if you still have symptoms—even if you have almost recovered.

• It’s possible to spread bacteria until you take an antibiotic for 72 hours and your symptoms have subsided.

Second, it increases the risk of pushing the infection further into your body resulting in more serious illnesses like bronchitis or a sinus infection.

That depends. You can keep your appointment only if you’ve been symptom free for at least 7 days. If that is not the case, please reschedule your appointment.

There is no secure way of knowing whether the symptoms you are or were experiencing are related to influenza or COVID without being tested. Loss of smell and taste can indicate COVID, but a bad case of the flu can produce the same symptoms. Protocols suggested to medica by the AMTA and the Department of Health is to treat all symptomatic clients as if they have contracted COVID.

Due to the complications presented by COVID regarding accurate testing and diagnosing, all clients are asked to wait 7 days after all symptoms have completely resolved before scheduling an appointment. We believe this will provide the needed protection for our client community. If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, please reschedule your massage:

• Sore throat

• Runny or stuffy nose

• Sneezing

• Coughing

• Muscle, chest, or joint pain, body aches

• Fatigue (tiredness)

• Headaches

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills

• Vomiting and/or diarrhea

No. You need to reschedule with your therapist. The common cold, flu, and COVID are very contagious. It’s possible to spread a virus one to three days before symptoms develop. You cannot know for certain whether or not you're contagious and can spread your virus to others.

No. Because most forms of bodywork involve enhancing circulation, a therapist must determine if their work could spread infection deeper into your body. Since there are so many variables in pathogen strength and location, antibiotic strength and human response, there is no exact formula to determine this risk. To ensure your health, we believe that safety is the aways the best policy and, therefore, ask that you reschedule your appointment for 7-10 days after the last dose of antibiotic.

We take every precaution possible to ensure the safety of medica's client community by strictly adhering to safety and sanitation regulations.

However, cold and flu viruses, along with bacteria, spread through the air. Even if you cover your cough or sneeze, you send infected droplets through the air when you talk. Treatment rooms are enclosed and humid spaces. Infected droplets can land in the mouth or nose of your therapist. They can land on hair, skin, and clothes and stay infectious for several hours. Clients and staff can then carry your virus back to work or home and infect others—especially those in high-risk groups.