During my 35 years of chiropractic practice I have heard many interesting comments from my patients who were pregnant. One lady who received a great deal of lower back pain relief through chiropractic care during her second pregnancy said: “I wish I had known to go to a chiropractor during my first pregnancy.” She went on to tell me that she had not had chiropractic care the first time she was pregnant and had suffered a great deal of lower back pain. This article will discuss how pain of the back can result during pregnancy and how chiropractic care can give lower back pain relief.
Another statement I heard was from an assistant who worked for me named Christine. She became pregnant with her first child and I gave her chiropractic treatments throughout her pregnancy. She not only experienced very little pain of the back but also had a very easy and quick delivery of her baby. During one of her visits to her female obstetrician, while pregnant, the obstetrician told her: “I would have never made it through my pregnancies if it hadn’t been for my chiropractor.” I’ve found that over the years obstetric professionals have become more acceptive of chiropractic care for pregnant patients and suggest and recommend patients see chiropractors for treatment-especially went back pain is involved.
Back discomfort can develop during pregnancy because of postural changes that are occurring due to changing weight-bearing of the mother. As the baby grows, it causes the mother’s posture to shift forward. This can put strain on the joints of the lower back and pelvis. If this occurs misalignments and abnormal movements can irritate pelvic and spinal joints which creates discomfort of the back.
Chiropractic care is a safe, gentle way for realignment of the lower spine and pelvis and gives pain relief. For this reason, obstetricians and primary care doctors recommend their pregnant patients to chiropractors because it is a drug-free alternative therapy for relief of lower back pain.
Additionally, a normally aligned pelvis allows the baby to be properly positioned during the various stages of pregnancy. Studies show that women receiving chiropractic care during pregnancy and especially through the last trimester tend to have quicker, easier deliveries of their babies. It should be stressed that chiropractors do not turn or reposition babies during pregnancy. This is the realm of the obstetrician. All chiropractic care does is make sure the pelvis and the spine are in optimal position. Some chiropractors utilize the Webster Technique, which is a safe, gentle method to help with alignment of the woman’s pelvis to give relief of back discomfort. The Webster Technique is one of the many forms of treatment that chiropractors can provide to give pain relief of the back during pregnancy.
