Massage Wives tale or Fact
I have been practicing massage for 10 years now and from training to currently I haven't worked on a pregnant client/patient in their 1st trimester. It has been considered a contraindication for as long as I have been practicing and I have believed it. I currently work with Chiropractor's who questions "what is the science behind it"? Being a woman who will be pregnant one day I would not want to be an experiment for any massage therapist on this topic.
The Chiropractors question "what would create this spontaneous miscarriage if we massage the patient"? I know that the female body is so unstable during 1st trimester & any possible conditions that could possible cause miscarriage aren't yet identified. I worked on a client many years ago when working in a spa in the West Loop Chicago and she never informed me of her 1st trimester massage. The pregnancy ended by miscarriage several weeks later. The question is what caused it?? Ever since that I have never massaged any 1st trimester patients.
As a massage therapist I would like to know has anyone received massage during their 1st Trimester or massaged a patient/client during that time? I read the article in www.massagetoday.com, The massage therapist says that it is okay to massage during the first trimester and there would only be a genetic reason or pathological reason why the mother to be would have a spontaneous miscarriage. My question is how do you know that is the only reason? Massage can change the way a body can function from lymph flow, circulation to blood pressure etc. how can we definitively say we can't affect a patient.
Considering pregnancy can create so many unexpected issues for a Mom for the first time, such as gestational diabetes, high pretension, edema, morning sickness, vertigo etc.., all of which are contraindications for massage. So my question is are we not massaging due to the issues Mommy may experience?
What are your thoughts?
Tunisia Macklin, LMT
www.massageprofessionalsofillinois.com
Wonderful post and nice blog.
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