Mr Charles Ayume, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Health Committee and Country Director of ReLaB-HS, Sam Tukei Ojulo (standing up) during the stakeholders' engagement meeting on rehabilitation on Thursday. Photo | Jessica Sabano/Daily Monitor).

Uganda’s Parliamentary Committee on Health is pushing for regulations on massage parlours over reports of people suffering injuries and blood clots due to inexperienced workers.

The concern was reportedly raised on Thursday at a roundtable engagement meeting of rehabilitation stakeholders in the country.

Research shows that massage therapy should be carefully applied to people with Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) – a form of a blood clot causing protruding veins in the legs, as it can dislodge a clot and cause a pulmonary embolism —which can lead to heart attack or stroke.

“There have been a lot of complaints that massage parlours are leading to blood clots and deaths in the country,” said Dr. Samuel Opio Acuti, deputy chairperson of Uganda’s parliamentary committee on health.

“Massage parlours are killing people slowly and they do not have professional attendants. People who have come to repair their physical bodies end up getting injured.”

Lawmaker Charles Ayumi, the committee’s chairperson said he himself was a victim of bad massage. He said the committee looks to regulate the parlours to save people’s lives.