How Often Should You See a Myotherapist for Best Results?

There's no single number that applies to everyone. How often you need to see a myotherapist depends on what you're actually trying to achieve, what you're currently dealing with, and how much work you're willing to put in outside the clinic. That said, there are patterns I see again and again in clinic that make the answer a lot clearer than it sounds.

It Starts With What "Best Results" Actually Means to You

Most people who come and see me are dealing with some kind of niggle, pain, or injury. The goal in those cases is straightforward: get that joint or area moving more freely, with less pain. From there, we shift into building strength so the pain or niggle doesn't just come straight back once it's settled down.

But "best results" looks different for everyone. It depends on your experience, what you've already tried, how your body moves, what you do for work, and what you're training for. There isn't a universal target, which is exactly why there isn't a universal answer to how often you should be coming in.

Frequency for a New or Acute Niggle

If something's flared up recently, my general approach is to see you at least twice in the first week. From there, we start spacing sessions out — pushing to every two weeks, then every three weeks, depending on how you're progressing.

That progression isn't random. If you're doing your homework exercises and taking on the education around what's actually driving the issue, you'll get through this stage a lot faster. If you're not doing the exercises, you're not going to progress as quickly, and that's on you, not the treatment. Most niggles come from habits — how you sit at work, how you move (or don't move) day to day — not from one single event. Getting to the bottom of those habits is what actually resolves things long-term.

I'm not the type of therapist who wants to see you weekly forever. The real goal is to get you fixing and improving most of this yourself at home, then coming back once a month just to keep on top of things.

The Maintenance Phase: Once a Month, Minimum

Once you're through the acute stage, I recommend every client comes in at least once a month for maintenance. Think of it the same way you'd think about servicing your car or going to the dentist. You don't wait until the car breaks down completely before taking it in — you maintain it so it keeps running well.

The body works the same way. If you're active, training for a sport, or just running around after kids and want to stay fit and healthy, there's always something worth working on. Monthly is the minimum I'd recommend for anyone wanting to stay ahead of issues rather than constantly reacting to them.

Does This Change for Athletes?

For CrossFit, BJJ, running, and footy clients, monthly is still the baseline — but fortnightly gets you better results if you can manage it. It genuinely comes down to your own goals and how much you want to invest in staying on top of your body.

Personally, as an ex-athlete, if I had the time and money, I'd get treated weekly. The way modern life is built — sedentary lifestyles, footwear that doesn't support natural movement, general lack of movement through the day — works against us constantly. We're simply not moving the way we used to, and that catches up with everyone eventually, athlete or not.

A Real Example: Monthly Maintenance in Practice

My clinic is based near a CrossFit gym, and I've been treating a group of their members — professionals in their thirties and forties, with families, training hard alongside busy work lives — on a monthly basis for several years now.

They're not coming in monthly because they're constantly injuring themselves training. It's the opposite. The niggles they deal with come from everyday habits: desk work, sedentary posture, general lack of movement outside the gym. The training itself isn't the problem. Until we're all back living on farms, lifting and moving constantly throughout the day the way humans did for most of history, these niggles are always going to show up. Regular maintenance is how you stay ahead of them.

There's No Fixed Timeline for Recovery

I won't ever tell a client "you'll be out of pain in four weeks" or "six weeks" or any other specific number. No therapist honestly can. Every case depends on a combination of factors — your nutrition, hydration, stress and cortisol levels, sleep, family and work commitments, and more. It's genuinely case by case.

Instead of chasing a fixed timeline, the conversation each session is about what you're feeling, what you're noticing, and how things are progressing. Niggles are a normal part of life. The real question isn't "when will this be fixed forever," it's "how much do you want to stay on top of it."

What Happens When You Wait Too Long Between Sessions

Clients who stretch their visits out to every three or four months still get some benefit, but nowhere near what regular monthly treatment provides. There's a very Australian tendency to brush off small niggles with a "she'll be right, mate" attitude — and those small niggles have a habit of turning into bigger ones if they're left unaddressed.

There's a lot of hidden tightness and low-grade pain sitting in most people's bodies that doesn't register until it becomes a real problem. Maintaining your body needs to be treated with the same seriousness as maintaining your health in any other area — it's not something to only think about once it's already gone wrong.

The Myth That One Session Should Fix You

One session is never going to fix an underlying issue, and no therapist can genuinely fix you on the treatment bed. What actually helps you fix yourself is the education you take away and apply outside of that one hour, whether you're seeing me weekly or monthly.

A single session can absolutely calm down symptoms and reduce pain, and that's a real and worthwhile goal. But if I'm not also educating you on how to maintain that improvement and build strength so it doesn't return, I'm not doing my job properly. Treatment addresses the symptoms in the moment; it's the ongoing work that addresses the cause.

Why Homework Between Sessions Matters More Than the Session Itself

The exercises I give clients to do at home are arguably more important than the treatment itself. Treatment turns down the symptoms. It doesn't fix the underlying issue on its own. Most pain shows up because we're weak, stiff, or not moving enough — and getting stronger is the only real fix for that.

If you're not doing your exercises, you already know it, and I don't need to lecture you about it. The goal is making it a habit. The more consistently clients do their homework, the faster they get out of pain — and here's the part people don't expect: the real hard work starts once the pain is gone. You ended up in pain in the first place because you were already weak in that area. Getting back to that same weak baseline just means you'll end up in pain again. Building real strength beyond where you started is what actually keeps it from coming back.

Being Honest About When You Don't Need to Come In

I've told plenty of clients they don't need to see me two or three times a week — even though other therapists in this industry will happily book you in that often. Almost nobody genuinely needs that level of treatment. Once you're at a decent level of health and fitness, monthly is enough.

If someone wants more frequent treatment because they enjoy it or want to push their results further, that's completely fine. But I'll always have the honest conversation about whether you actually need to spend that much money to keep your body in good shape, rather than just booking you in as often as possible.

Being Proactive Instead of Reactive

Most of us are wired to react to pain rather than prevent it. We wait until something's already screaming at us, and then we scramble to fix it — often when it's already progressed further than it needed to. It's the same pattern we fall into with food, rewarding ourselves after the fact instead of fuelling ourselves properly to perform well in the first place.

The people who get the best long-term results from myotherapy are the ones who flip that pattern. Doing your mobility work, staying consistent with the gym, and getting stronger before pain forces the issue is always going to beat waiting until you're already hurting.

If you want to stop reacting to pain and start staying ahead of it, book in for a session and we can figure out the right frequency for where you're at right now.