There are several contraindications for receiving a massage. If you have any of the following conditions, you should not get a massage:
• Fever 
• Any type of infectious disease 
• Systemic infections 
• Severe cold 
• Fracture, bleeding, burns or other acute injury 
• Liver and kidney diseases 
• Blood clot 
• Pregnancy-induced diabetes, toxemia, preeclampsia/eclampsia 
• High blood pressure (unless under control with medication) 
• Heart disease 
• Cancer 
• Open skin lesions or sores (therapist may work around them if localized) 

The guidelines here are pretty straightforward. You don't want the massage to make an underlying medical condition worse, and you don't want to pass anything contagious to the massage therapist. If you're unsure about whether a minor condition should prohibit you from getting a massage, call your therapist before your appointment. If you have a chronic medical condition, check with your doctor before proceeding on a course of massage therapy. For some illnesses, other bodywork modalities may work well. If you're suffering from fibromyalgia, lupus, and other conditions, try to find a bodyworker who has some experience with these, since they should know what works best under certain conditions.

At your initial visit, you will most likely be asked to fill out a client intake form. Some of these are simple, some run for a couple pages. Not only does it provide the massage therapist with your name, address, and phone number, it should also have a place to list any underlying medical conditions. The therapist should be aware of any of these. Even if you have an allergy to something in the oil the therapist uses, you should list this. You should be asked at any subsequent visits about any new medical or physical conditions. If you're not asked, volunteer that information if there is anything the therapist should know.