Prenatal and postpartum care

What happens during pregnancy to cause pain?

Pregnant woman may begin to feel back pain as early as their first trimester. With a changing center of gravity from the increasing size and weight of the baby and uterus, you begin to lean forward. When this occurs, the low back and pelvic areas compensate for this change by tightening and working harder to keep you upright and standing. This change in posture and compensation can further lead to mid-back, upper back and neck tightness as all of these muscles work with your spine to keep you moving. 

Another reason for some pain is when your body starts to release a hormone called Relaxin. This hormone gets your body ready for child birth by loosening the ligaments in order to increase the size of the pelvis. This is a necessary hormone as it also increases blood flow to your body to help with increased work in order to grow a human! The problem comes about as you need to recruit more muscles to stabilize the low back and pelvis before child birth. This can lead to muscle imbalances and tightness as your body grows. 

What can chiropractic treatments do to help?

First we assess and examine what is exactly going on. Every pregnancy is different and many women can carry baby weight in different areas leading to different compensation patterns. Next, after diagnosing what is going on, the Doctors will go through what can be done and how we can manage this while the baby continues to grow. We have specific tables and equipment to use for pregnancy treatments that allow for pregnant woman to lay on their stomach on our tables with no pressure on the abdomen and growing belly! This position alone usually decreases pressure on the back and gives them a break from using their back muscles constantly. Common techniques we use for pregnancy are the Webster Technique, Flexion-Distraction therapy, adjustments, muscle mobilization, in office and prescribed at home stretching.

Webster Technique for Pregnancy

The Webster Technique is a specific chiropractic analysis & adjustment that reduces nervous system stress, balances pelvic bones, muscles and ligaments and optimizes the mother’s pelvic function in pregnancy and birth.

By improving the movement of the pelvic joints, muscles and ligaments the baby can move freely and assume the best position for birth. Imagine you are sleeping in a bed and someone is sitting on the sheets next to you. Can you move freely? No. This is similar to the baby in the uterus. If the surrounding tissues around the baby in the uterus have tension, it may prevent the baby from moving into proper head down position for birth.

Is it safe to be adjusted while you're pregnant?

Short answer: YES! Peterson et al. in 2014 did a research study with 115 pregnant women who were having pain in their back and/or pelvic regions and had not seen a Chiropractor in the past 3 months. The pregnant women were then evaluated and cleared to begin chiropractic treatments. They found the following: 

Within ONE WEEK there was a 52% reduction in their pain level

In ONE MONTH there was a 70% reduction in their pain level

In THREE MONTHS 85% reported clinically significant improvement

After SIX MONTHS 90% reported being clinically significantly improved

88% reported continued improvement in pain after ONE YEAR

There were also NO serious or adverse events reported in this study!

Peterson et al., Outcomes of pregnant patients with low back pain undergoing chiropractic treatment; a prospective cohort study with short term, medium tern and 1 year follow up. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2014, 22:15.  

When the mom’s physiological function is at its best, the babies development is optimized. Chiropractic care and the Webster technique allow for safer, easier births!