Pregnancy Sports Massage - Focused Therapy London

The main objectives of Pregnancy Sports Massage are to support your body during the changes it goes through, and to treat any pain or discomfort you may be feeling, due to your pregnancy. Also to provide as many of the same benefits as possible as you could expect to receive from following Therapies, as requested, at the same time as adapting each treatment to ensure as first priority both your and your baby’s well being:

Yes it is safe. I always require that if you notify me that they are, or may be pregnant, that you receive your first scan before receiving any Therapies from me during pregnancy. This is to ensure that all is well with both your health as well as the baby's and that no high risk or other complications may be occurring with the pregnancy which precaution against or prevent massage being an appropriate treatment for you. If you would like to receive a Pregnancy Sports Massage in your First Trimester, before receiving your first scan, you will need to provide me with Medical Consent from your GP or other pregnancy related medical expert, with any guidelines for treatment additionally provided that they may consider appropriate during your treatment (where applicable).

It is always additionally recommended that any expectant mother receiving any form of bodywork therapy during pregnancy speaks to a pregnancy related pregnancy related medical expert before attending any Confirmed Appointment to receive any of the Therapies I provide. That way they can be sure to receive any specialised guidance on any specific requirements relating to what is best for both them and their baby during their current trimester stage of pregnancy, as well as feedback on both their and their baby's current state of health.

If you have not already seen a pregnancy related medical expert to advise that you are, or believe that you may be, pregnant, speaking to a relevant pregnancy related Medical Expert before considering any pregnancy massage is especially recommended unless you are sufficiently medically qualified yourself and can vouch in an official capacity for both your and your baby's well being. Once you have received confirmation that all was well with your first scan and that it has been confirmed by a pregnancy related medical expert that your scan showed no high risk or other complications with either your health or your pregnancy you are fine to receive Pregnancy Sports Massage during any Trimester unless you have been advised otherwise due to any other non pregnancy related medical condition.

As long as I am aware that you are pregnant then you can feel confident in receiving a safe and effective treatment. Please always ensure to provide me with any relevant medical information in relation to both your own and your baby’s health at the start of each Confirmed Appointment. This information should be provided along with any guidelines for treatment which have been advised to you about any areas you should avoid having any massage work, or any areas where too much depth of massage is not recommended in your specific circumstances. That way I can establish if there are any standard Pregnancy Sports Massage treatment styles that need to be adapted at the start of every Appointment.

What are the changes made to a Pregnancy Sports Massage compared to any other type of Therapies?

The following adaptions are made during a Pregnancy Sports Massage in comparison to other types of Massage or Acupuncture Needle based Therapies:

It is common in Pregnancy Sports Massage to undertake any massage where you are in either seated or laying positions which do not exert any undue pressure on your baby or your veins and arteries preventing the smooth flow of the blood stream
During pregnancy, your body produces a hormone called Relaxin which has the purpose of relaxing the ligaments in your pelvis as well as softening and widening your cervix, increasing cardiac output, renal (kidney) blood flow and increasing arterial compliance. Relaxin can also loosen ligaments in other joints in your body and therefore extra care needs to be taken by any therapist performing your massage, not just in the pelvic region but in all other joint areas to ensure there is no encouragement in your body for your joints to become too loose
Appropriate pressure needs to be gauged with utmost care if you are seeking any massage release in to your lower back and pelvic area during your Appointment. This does not mean you cannot have deep massage work but pressure used and time taken to achieve depth is always undertaken with care, adjusted according to which trimester your are in or avoided entirely if inappropriate for any reason. These adaptions are based not just on which trimester your pregnancy is in but also on any complications you may personally be experiencing during your pregnancy
Abdominal Massage during pregnancy is entirely optional. Should you decide you would like to receive abdominal release to help ease the abdominal tissues or to help relieve any Constipation you may be experiencing during your Second or Third Trimester, Abdominal Massage will only be undertaken with gentle pressure only. Abdominal Massage will not be possible in your First Trimester of Pregnancy
Certain Acupressure points in the body are considered potentially unsafe during pregnancy and therefore are mindfully avoided
Additionally I choose not to undertake Medical Acupuncture (Dry Needling) on clients who are, or believe they may be, pregnant except under exceptional circumstances and not at all in the First Trimester

When should you not receive a Pregnancy Sports Massage?

Please be aware there are a numerous medical conditions that can be antagonised by a massage based treatment. During pregnancy additional medical conditions or complications can occur which further caution against the use of massage based therapies. These fall within three main categories based on which medical condition you are currently experiencing, or in some cases have experienced previously:

Total Contraindications which entirely preventing you receiving massage treatment in any area of your body for the good of your and/or your baby's health
Special Circumstances where written or verbal Medical Consent and any guidelines for treatment are required before it is possible to receive a massage treatment
Local Contraindications which prevent you receiving massage in certain areas or in certain ways for the good of your health. Local Contraindications can also include medical conditions that must remain covered during your treatment to ensure no cross contamination or potential infection occurs

Should you have any diagnosed or undiagnosed medical condition it is always recommended that you check with your General Practitioner (GP) and/or pregnancy related medical expert before scheduling an Appointment to ensure massage is suitable under your specific circumstances.

Please note: should you arrive for any massage based Appointment with any medical condition, or without written Medical Consent where you have not already received your first pregnancy scan and been advised that all is well with both you and your pregnancy, without already having checked that it is suitable for treatment the following will apply:

I may have to look up your medical condition during your Appointment to make sure that treating you is appropriate; and
I may be unable to provide you with a massage during your Appointment or restricted in my capacity to do so

Where you attend an Appointment and a massage based treatment is not possible due to any medical condition you may have, your Appointment will be treated as a Missed Appointment and no treatment will be able to be provided.

Are Incorporated Techniques used as part of a Pregnancy Sports Massage?

Myofascial Release Therapy is always used as part of any Pregnancy Sports Massage treatment. Based on how you feel on the day, I might also utilise other Incorporated Techniques as may be appropriate for your specific condition and during your Trimester stage of pregnancy.

Recommended Pregnancy Sports Massage Appointment lengths

Due to any specific aches, pains, injuries and/or problem areas you are experiencing, deeper and more focused release is required in to the muscle tissues during a Pregnancy Sports Massage. Also due to the need to ensure both your and your baby's well being during the treatment, as well as providing any additional time for you to undress, dress and reposition on the treatment couch as needed during the later stages of your pregnancy, the time required to resolve such issues is longer and therefore unless you book in a long treatment a significantly smaller area of the body may be covered than is the case of a non pregnancy related Sports Massage or Remedial Massage.

Please be aware the below Appointment lengths are general guidelines only:

45 Minutes:	One specific issue treatment; or A basic Specialised treatment
1 Hour:	A back, shoulder and neck treatment; or A lower body treatment; or One specific issue treatment; or A brisk targeted relief treatment for a specific condition
90 Minutes:	An upper body and one specific issue treatment; or A lower body and one specific issue treatment; or Two specific issues treatment; or A targeted relief treatment for a specific condition
2 Hours: *	A back, shoulder, neck, lower body and one specific issue or additional area such as arms, scalp or abdominal treatment (if time permits); or An upper body and two specific issues treatment; or A lower body and two specific issues treatment; or An extended targeted relief treatment for a specific condition

* As a standard rule many pregnant women in their Third Trimester may not be comfortable being on a massage couch for this length of time, so if you are making an Appointment on behalf of the expectant mother it is recommended you check with her first before booking this Appointment length or if the massage is to be a surprise opt for a shorter Appointment length instead.

What is Pregnancy Sports Massage?

What are the main objectives of Pregnancy Sports Massage?

Is it safe to have a Massage during Pregnancy?

Additional Information in relation to Pregnancy Sports Massage