Using Therapeutic Massage for a Healthy Pregnancy
Therapeutic massage has been around for hundreds of years, and can be used to relieve muscle tension, reduce stress, and to improve your overall health. In the past, health professionals were somewhat ambivalent in accepting the benefits of therapeutic massage for pregnant women. However, modern research is showing that this type of massage can be an important part of a woman’s prenatal care.
The Benefits
Studies indicate that therapeutic massage during pregnancy can relieve muscle aches and pains, reduce the symptoms of depression, and decrease anxiety.
The massage technique shown to provide the most benefits to a pregnant woman is the Swedish massage. This particular type of massage reduces muscle tension, improves circulation and is the most recommended for pregnancy, since it focuses on the skeletal and circulatory changes brought on as a result of changing hormone levels in a pregnant woman’s body.
Therapeutic massage studies have shown that pregnant women who received massages twice a week for a five-week period had significantly lower levels of the stress hormones norepinephrines and cortisol. They also showed high levels of serotonin and dopamine – the body’s “feel good” hormones. This evidence strongly suggests that therapeutic massage incorporated into normal prenatal care can give the mother some very substantial health benefits.
Swelling, or edema, of the joints is very common during pregnancy, and is caused by increased pressure on major blood vessels from the heavy uterus. Massage can help soft tissues release these trapped fluids, aiding in the removal of waste products from the body.
In addition, many women experience sciatic nerve pain in the late stages of pregnancy. The weight of the uterus can put pressure on the muscles of the lower and upper leg, causing swelling and pressure on the nerves. Therapeutic massage has been demonstrated to help relieve this pressure and significantly reduce sciatic nerve pain.
Precautions
Women should discuss the benefits and risks of therapeutic massage with their individual prenatal caregivers. You need to be informed about the benefits and risks of therapeutic massage – so it’s best to work with a knowledgeable professional before adding therapeutic massage to your pregnancy care.
If therapeutic massage is recommended in your case, you should only seek services from a certified prenatal care massage therapist. These professionals have been trained beyond what is required of national standards for massage therapists and they know specifically how to address the sensitive areas of the pregnant body.
If you have any of the following condition, you should speak with your health care provider before you receive a massage: high risk pregnancy, pre-eclampsia, hypertension due to pregnancy, previous pre-term labor or severe swelling. In addition, most therapists will refuse treatment to a woman in her first trimester of pregnancy, as there are statistics that show a higher rate of miscarriage during the first twelve weeks.
Therapeutic massage is one avenue to consider to help relieve some of the discomforts associated with pregnancy, including back and joint pain, anxiety and swelling. Again, it’s important to speak with your prenatal care specialist before you sign up for therapeutic massage to be sure the therapy is right for you.
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Source: Pregnancy Hut - Week By Week Pregnancy Calendar