Pregnancy massage – benefits & when to avoid it
I sat down with Michelle from Hills Massage to talk about the benefits of pregnancy massage and remedial massage for new mums, as well as safety considerations during this special time.
Michelle has kindly provided a Special Offer: Mention Wholehearted Family Health to receive $10 off a one hour (or longer) massage. You can book your appointment online via the Hills Massage website. This post is a collaboration between Wholehearted Family Health and Hills Massage.
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into massage therapy?
I was working as a massage therapist when I was fired for the first time ever.
I was shocked and devastated.
My clients are probably reading this and thinking, surely not? But it is the truth. Turns out that the owner of the massage business was a little concerned with my performance, you see, everyone one was asking for me…I’ll let you put two and two together!
I found massage in my mid-thirties, or rather it found me. I was living in England with a young family and working as an editor, when the opportunity arose to do a paid course of my choice. So my first foray into massage came about as a hobby. I trained for 12 months and started massaging friends.
We relocated to Perth after a family member’s health scare, with our now almost four year old daughter with the ‘plum in her mouth’ English accent. So after a turbulent start with the aforementioned firing, I decided to start my own business and Hills Massage came into fruition in October 2003. I had big plans you see, so I registered the Business Name, Hills Massage. I started mobile, slogging my table around, night after night. Did some senior massage at The Jack Healey Centre, and finally convinced my hubby to convert our front room into a clinic.
In the meantime, I continued my studies to acquire my Remedial Massage Diploma (coming second in the ‘Achievements in Theory’). Probably also a good point to let you know here, that I was a qualified Registered Nurse, but typically injured my back in a lifting accident and had my lower spine fused. Yes, I was admonished by my mother, who thought massage was not really a sensible idea for an ex-nurse with a dicky back.
After five years of working from home, my reputation was growing and I was invited to move into one of the physiotherapist’s rooms at Mead St. This is where the business blossomed. I now had a central location and access to an electric table, Woo Hoo! (you have no idea how much better it makes life for the therapist, not to mention the client).
The business thrived and I took on my first therapist, that dream of opening my own clinic was getting closer.
Finally in October of 2014, my dream came into fruition; I leased a small space on Haynes St (our current clinic).
What is remedial massage?
“Remedial massage is the systematic assessment and treatment of the muscles, tendons, ligaments and connective tissues of the body to assist in rehabilitation, pain and injury management” (Medibank Private).
Remedial Massage is an umbrella term for many different styles of western style massage. It incorporates:
– Deep Tissue
– Myofascial Release Therapy
– Myofascial Trigger Points
– Swedish
– Manual Lymph Drainage
– Pregnancy Massage
– Sports Massage
– Postural Massage
Remedial Massage can be used to relax you after a stressful work week. To help prepare you for that weekend footy game with finals rapidly approaching. Ease away the pain after that very first Saturday Park Run. Help you release the tension in that lower back when you are 7 months pregnant and carrying that growing bundle of joy. Rehabilitate that frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, and plantar fasciitis. Correct your posture and soreness between the shoulder blades after spending years at a desk and in front of a computer. That headache – you just can’t shift, coming from your neck, shoulders – maybe a trigger point or two in your upper trapezius.
What are the benefits of massage in pregnancy and for new mums?
Massage is a great non-pharmaceutical way to manage the aches and discomfort of pregnancy; lower back pain, pelvic girdle pain, swollen legs, wrist pain and shoulder tension, at least some relief can be experienced with massage.
Similarly, for new mums, massage is a great way to relax and take time out. It can help ease tired shoulders from holding baby and aid drainage of excess fluid by boosting circulation.
Massage has been shown in studies to reduce stress hormones (cortisol) and increase happy hormones (serotonin and dopamine), a benefit to both mums and mums-to-be!
How do pregnant women have a massage when they can’t lie face down?
We have a special belly pillow that allows women to face down and we can also use pillows to ensure that the massage experience is a comfortable one.
Many women worry about the safety of pregnancy massage…
All of our massage therapists are accredited to provide pregnancy massage. We avoid acupressure points and provide light massage over the abdomen and legs (due to the increased risk of blood clots) to ensure safety. We also avoid essential oils that are unsafe in pregnancy. However, there are some conditions unsuitable for massage, these include; extreme nausea or vomiting, vaginal bleeding, fever, abdominal cramping, contagious illness, pre-eclampsia, and high blood pressure.
Where are you located and do you offer private health rebates?
We are located at 16/22 Haynes St in Kalamunda. We are fully qualified Remedial Massage Therapists and offer Health Insurance Rebates. This was recently reviewed by the Heath Minister, and Remedial Massage is now the only natural therapy that survived the cut scheduled for April 2019.
Special Offer
Mention Wholehearted Family Health to receive $10 off a one hour (or longer) massage.
You can book your appointment online via the Hills Massage website.
