What Are the Effects of Massage on the Reproductive System?

There are many healthful benefits to massage therapy. Couples who want to get pregnant or who are expecting can get special benefits from massage that can help ease complications of pregnancy.

Stress Reduction

• Pregnancy is a big stressor for women who are pregnant, and for their partners. Morning sickness, physical discomfort and the job of preparing a good home for your child puts tremendous pressure on expecting parents. Massage therapy is a great way for expectant couples to relax and rest, if only for an hour.
  Massage is known to help reduce blood pressure. This can be very important to a pregnant woman, because pre-eclampsia (elevated blood pressure) can be very dangerous for expectant mothers and the unborn child. Keeping blood pressure down is important because once a diagnosis of pre-eclampsia is made, massage is not allowed.

Muscles and Posture

• Pregnancy and the weight gain that comes with it can put a tremendous stress on the mother's body. The growth of the fetus and the body weight needed to ensure a healthy baby pulls and stretches the muscles of the abdomen and lower back, causing back pain and making movement difficult. Properly administered, a massage can help loosen the muscles of the lower back and abdominal areas, giving the body a chance to rest and recover. Massage can also help the muscles relax enough that the spine and skeletal support structures can realign so they can properly support the new life growing within.

Other Female Reproductive Health Concerns

• Fibroid tumors, endometriosis, ovarian cysts and ovarian, cervical or breast cancer can all make pregnancy difficult to achieve or maintain. Your massage therapist will know what can and cannot be done to treat each of these conditions with massage, and whether massage is appropriate.

Male Reproductive System

• There are a few issues that can affect a man's reproductive health--but outside of testicular cancer, massage is safe for just about all situations. The reasoning is that male reproductive organs are all located in areas where massage is not allowed, so other than the contraindications involving massage for cancer patients, massage should pose no problems. Massage does little to improve male reproductive health, other than for prostate problems.

Cautions

• As soon as a woman knows she's pregnant, she should alert her massage therapist. She should also ensure her massage therapist is trained in prenatal massage.
  During the second and third trimester, the massage therapist should have the expectant mother lie on her side with pillows to support the body. Finally, the massage therapist should never massage around an expectant mother's ankles and feet. There are pressure points that can stimulate the woman's uterus, and could cause early labor or miscarriage. Caution should also be taken when massaging the abdomen.