Massages for pregnant women focus on the pregnant woman’s needs. Pregnancy massage can help alleviate discomfort, relax muscle tension, and promote optimal circulation in the body during pregnancy. Here are some benefits of getting a pregnancy massage.
It can help with stress.
Your muscles will slowly become tender as your body changes and adapt to the growing foetus. This stress can lead to muscle tension and pain in some cases. Massage can help you relax, resulting in less stress on your body. It’s also been shown that massage can improve sleep quality and even reduce the number of headaches during pregnancy.
Pregnancy massage also has a positive effect on your baby’s development. It can help increase blood flow, benefiting you and your baby. And since massage releases stress hormones in the body may also reduce the risk of preterm labour and other stress-related complications.
It can relieve spasms, myofascial pain, and muscle cramps, especially in the lower back, neck, hips, and legs.
A cramp is a sudden and painful muscle contraction. Cramping can occur in any muscle group, but the most common areas are the calves (especially after exercise), hamstrings, quads, and feet.
It’s not uncommon for pregnant women to experience frequent cramps due to the increase in oestrogen during this time. A spasm is also a sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle or group of muscles. The difference between a spasm and a cramp is that spasms usually last longer than 30 seconds or so—usually several minutes—and they tend to occur in groups rather than individually, as most cramps do. They may also be accompanied by pain or discomfort that you can feel anywhere along your spine or lower back region.
Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) refers to chronic musculoskeletal pain related to trigger points (areas of hyperirritability within the skeletal muscle). It is often localised to one area but can also spread from one area into others.
It reduces swelling.
Swelling is a common side effect of pregnancy. It can cause discomfort, especially in the lower back and during sleep. Massage reduces swelling by improving blood flow and lymph drainage. In addition to reducing swelling in general, massage can help reduce swelling in the legs, especially if you have varicose veins.
It releases endorphins—amino acids that work as the body’s natural painkiller.
Endorphins are neurotransmitters that act as the body’s natural painkillers. When you are in pain, endorphins are released to block the transmission of pain signals and help you feel better. This can happen through exercise or massage, but it can also be produced by imagining positive thoughts or activities.
Endorphins also affect your mood and can help you to feel happier. This is why it’s so important to stay positive if you want to get rid of back pain.
Massage helps ease labour pain.
Massage can also help ease labour pain. The massage therapist will give you a relaxing, soothing massage to reduce stress and anxiety—which can translate into less pain during labour.
Massage increases blood flow, which helps with swelling. Swollen ankles are common during pregnancy—massaging them regularly can help decrease swelling and discomfort in the ankles.
You’ll want to start getting massages before your due date so that you don’t have any new aches or pains when it’s time for delivery.
Conclusion
Massage is a great way to keep your body healthy and strong during pregnancy. Not only does it relieve muscle pain, cramps and spasms, but it can also help with labour pain by increasing blood flow to the uterus, which is essential when it comes time for delivery.