What happens during a pregnancy massage when you're actually in pain?

Pregnancy massage can mean different things to different women.

Sometimes what you want is an hour to switch off, relax and have somebody look after you for a change.

And there is absolutely a place for that.

But sometimes you're booking a pregnancy massage because you're hurting. And it doesn't always sound like a neat clinical description of "pregnancy-related musculoskeletal discomfort".

It sounds more like:

• "My pelvis hurts every time I turn over in bed."

• "My hips and lower back are killing me."

• "I'm getting that horrible pain through my bum and down my leg."

• "Putting my socks, shoes or knickers on has become a balancing act."

• "I'm exhausted because I can't bloody sleep properly."

And eventually: "Do I really just have to put up with this until the baby comes?"

When that's what brings you through my door, pregnancy massage looks a little different.

Because I'm not simply trying to give you a lovely hour on the couch. I want to understand what's bothering you, how it's affecting your everyday life and what might help your body feel and move more comfortably. That starts before I put my hands on you, in explaining what happens during a pregnancy massage.

I want to know what actually hurts.

When do you notice it?

What movements are difficult?

Does walking bother you?

What happens when you turn over in bed?

Are stairs becoming uncomfortable?

Can you stand for long without everything starting to ache?

Are you struggling to sleep because you can't find a position that's comfortable for very long?

Those things help me decide where treatment might need to focus. And that isn't necessarily just the place you're pointing to. If your lower back hurts, of course I'm interested in your lower back. But I'm also interested in what's happening around your pelvis, hips, glutes and legs.

How are you moving? Where are you holding tension? Which areas are working particularly hard as your body adapts throughout pregnancy?

Because your body is doing an enormous amount. Your centre of gravity changes as your bump grows. The way you stand and move can change. Your abdominal wall is adapting. Your pelvis is dealing with changing loads. And muscles throughout your body may find themselves working differently from before.

So targeted pregnancy massage can involve working with several areas rather than repeatedly treating the bit that's shouting the loudest.

A lovely example of this was a woman who came to see me at 35 weeks pregnant.

She was experiencing pelvic girdle pain, lower-back and hip pain, leg cramps and discomfort through her upper back.

There wasn't one single sore spot she could point to and say, "That's the problem."

I started by making sure she was properly supported and comfortable. And that matters. You shouldn't have to tolerate an uncomfortable treatment position simply because you're pregnant.

I began with targeted work through areas of her thighs and adductors, the muscles along the inner thigh, before moving on to work more extensively through the areas that needed attention.

Using the Belloost pregnancy pillow meant she could lie comfortably supported on her front while pregnant, allowing me to work through areas such as her legs, hips, glutes, around the pelvis and SI area, back, shoulders and neck as appropriate.

Not everything needed the same treatment. And not everything needed treating simply because it was there. The work was guided by what she was experiencing, what I'd found and how her body responded. And treatment didn't necessarily finish when she got off the couch. Because she still had to go home and live in the same pregnant body.

She still had to walk. Get in and out of bed. Climb the stairs. Get dressed. Possibly work. Possibly look after other children. And somehow find a comfortable sleeping position with an increasingly impressive bump attached to the front of her. 😂

So alongside the hands-on treatment, I gave her a personalised programme of pregnancy-safe movements to continue supporting what we were working on between sessions. Nothing ridiculous. Nothing that required her to suddenly make pregnancy rehabilitation her new full-time hobby.

Just movements chosen specifically for her, based on what I'd found and what she wanted to achieve. After treatment, she reported a substantial reduction in her discomfort and was able to rest and sleep more comfortably.

She chose to continue for three sessions so we could keep working with her body as her pregnancy progressed. And that's important too. Pregnant bodies don't stand still. What your body needs at 25 weeks may not be what it needs at 35 weeks. Your baby grows. Your body continues adapting. The demands placed on your muscles and joints change. And the things that feel tight, tired or uncomfortable can change too.

So there isn't one standard pregnancy massage routine that every pregnant woman walking through my door receives. It's about the woman in front of me.

What is actually bothering you?

How is it affecting the way you move, sleep and get through your day?

Where might targeted hands-on treatment be useful?

And is there anything simple and realistic you can do between treatments to continue supporting your body?

Pregnancy can come with aches, pains and some truly spectacular manoeuvres just to put your knickers on. But being pregnant doesn't mean every discomfort has to be met with: "Well, you're pregnant. What do you expect?"

Sometimes what you need isn't somebody to tell you it's just part of pregnancy.

It's somebody to listen to what's actually bothering you, look beyond the bit that hurts and work out what might help your body feel and move more comfortably.

Because "Do I really just have to put up with this until the baby comes?" is a perfectly reasonable question to ask.

Love, always

Dawn xx