Massage during your period: what helps and what to ask

Your period has arrived on the same day as the massage you booked three weeks ago. Do you cancel? Plenty of people do, and almost none of them need to.

A massage during your period is completely ordinary, and therapists work with guests on their period every day. Keep your underwear on, use whatever period product you normally would, and ask for anything that makes it more comfortable: a different position, lighter pressure, nothing on your tummy. Some guests book that week on purpose. Our aromatherapy massage is one the menu specifically associates with menstrual pain, and slow, steady touch and warmth are often exactly what an aching lower back and belly want.

Can you get a massage on your period?

Yes. For most people there is no reason to cancel, and you do not have to mention it at all if you would rather not. A quick word when you arrive ("It's day one and my lower back is sore") does help your therapist plan the hour, though, and it is a sentence they have heard many times.

The practical side is simpler than people expect:

• Wear what you would normally wear. A tampon, cup, pad or period underwear all work. Keep your underwear on; you stay covered with towels, with only the area being worked on uncovered.
• Use the bathroom just before you start, and know you can pause if you need to. Nobody minds.
• Pack a spare if you are booking 90 minutes or more, or a package with a scrub.
• Eat something light beforehand. Low energy and a crampy stomach are a poor mix on a massage table.

Timing is personal. Some people want a massage on day one or two, when the ache is at its worst; others prefer the few days before, when they feel puffy, tense and short-tempered, and save the period itself for the sofa. If your cycle is fairly regular and you know which days are hardest, it is worth booking around them rather than hoping.

Getting comfortable on the table

Lying face down is the part people worry about. A bloated, crampy belly and tender breasts do not always love a flat table. Say so at the start. A pillow under the hips or ankles takes the pressure off the lower back, and you can ask about spending part of the session on your side.

Then there is the tummy. Some people find slow, gentle circles over the lower belly soothing; others cannot bear anything near it that week. Both are normal, and it is entirely your call. Deep pressure on a cramping tummy is rarely a good idea, so if you want it included, ask for it light.

Pressure in general is worth adjusting. Many people find their body feels more sensitive around their period, so the pressure that is perfect in the middle of the month can feel like too much now. Start lighter and ask for more if you want it.

"Tell us it is that week and we change the plan: lighter, slower, more time on the lower back and hips, and nothing on the tummy unless you ask."

Siri therapist team

Which treatment suits that week

Aromatherapy massage, the first choice

Long, flowing strokes with blended essential oils, at light-to-medium pressure and an unhurried tempo. On our menu it is associated with menstrual pain as well as stress, anxiety and poor sleep, which is why it is the one we would suggest first. Soft, warm scents tend to suit better than sharp ones; our guide to choosing an essential-oil blend covers the options. If strong scents make you queasy at this time of the month, mention it when you book.

Hot stone or herbal compress, for warmth

Warmth is one of the simplest comforts for period pain, and many people find heat along the lower back does as much as a hot water bottle on the tummy. A hot stone massage brings that warmth along the whole back. It is a 90 or 120-minute commitment, though. If you are feeling washed out, a shorter aromatherapy session may be kinder.

Reflexology, if you would rather not undress

Some days you want the comfort without the logistics. Reflexology foot massage works the legs and feet only, in 30, 45 or 60 minutes, so there is very little to think about.

What to save for another week

Deep tissue, and the firmer stretches of a traditional Thai massage. Not because they are risky, but because firm work tends to feel more intense when everything is already sensitive, and deep stretches through the hips and belly are not always welcome. Book them in a fortnight.

What a massage during period cramps feels like

If you would like a plan to ask for, this one works well for a 60-minute session:

1. Start face down with support, a pillow under the ankles or hips, and slow work across the lower back and the tops of the hips, where period ache often settles.
2. Shoulders and neck next. Cramps make most people brace without noticing, and the tension collects up here too.
3. Long strokes up the backs of the legs. Surprisingly settling, and often the part people mention afterwards.
4. Turn over for the arms and the fronts of the legs, with a few light circles over the belly only if you want them.
5. A few quiet minutes at the end before you sit up. You will be more relaxed than you think.

Afterwards: water, something warm, and a gentle evening. Healthify suggests warmth and gentle exercise such as walking for period pain, so a heat pack at home and a short walk after dinner are good companions to the massage.

When period pain needs a GP

Some period pain is common, and for many people warmth, gentle movement and simple pain relief are enough. But period pain should not run your life, and some patterns are worth having checked. See your GP if you have:

• Severe pain that is not helped by medicines or self-care
• Pain that stops you going to work or school, or doing the things you usually do
• Pain that lasts the whole way through your period, or gets worse each cycle
• Period pain starting for the first time after the age of 25
• Very heavy bleeding, bleeding between periods or after sex, or pelvic pain when you are not on your period

Healthify's page on period pain (dysmenorrhoea) explains that pain lasting through your period, getting worse, or starting after 25 can have another cause, most commonly endometriosis. It is worth getting checked rather than pushing through.

Get urgent help (call 111 or go to the emergency department) for sudden, severe tummy or pelvic pain, pain with a fever or vomiting, or severe one-sided pain if there is any chance you could be pregnant.

Prices and booking

• Aromatherapy, Viaduct: 30 mins $65 · 60 mins $115 · 90 mins $165
• Aromatherapy, St Heliers: 30 mins $60 · 60 mins $105 · 90 mins $145
• Hot stone: 90 mins $175 at the Viaduct, $160 at St Heliers

Both spas are open seven days, 10.00am to 8.00pm, so an evening booking is easy: massage, home, heat pack, bed. A late appointment also tends to make for a better night, which our guide to massage and sleep explains. A 15% surcharge applies on public holidays.

Common questions