Did you know that 50-72% of women experience low back pain during their pregnancy? Back pain is also the leading cause of missed workdays for working women during their pregnancy. Studies show 10% of women will experience disabling back discomfort for at least two years following delivery. Obviously, back problems associated with pregnancy are major health concern. This article will discuss why pain of the back develops during pregnancy and a safe, effective method to help with this malady.
Most would agree that medications and surgery are not the answer for a woman with a back problem during her pregnancy and even in the breast-feeding postpartum. In 2004 Americans spent $26.1 billion trying to find relief of back pain during pregnancy.
Because treatment options are limited during pregnancy due to mother and fetus safety a nonsurgical and drug-free option would be the best course of action. Fortunately, that option exists in the form of chiropractic treatment.
Chiropractic offers a safe, noninvasive approach to managing back discomfort in pregnancy that uses a time-honored method of care. Because of the changes occurring in a woman’s body during her pregnancy the lower part of the spine in the pelvis are susceptible to becoming misaligned and moving improperly. The lower the bones of the spine are called the lumbar vertebrae. The pelvis is made of three separate bones formed by two winged bones called the Ilium and the central tailbone called the sacrum.
Because of the weight and position of the growing fetus any of the lumbar vertebral and pelvic bones can experience improper movement and misalignments of their joints. A chiropractic examination will reveal where improper biomechanical changes occur in the low back and pelvis. Then, safe, gentle, chiropractic adjustments (sometimes called chiropractic manipulation) can be administered to the pregnant female to give effective relief of lower back pain during pregnancy.
In 2009, 78 pregnant women participated in a research study to evaluate disability and pain intensity upon receiving chiropractic care for back discomfort during pregnancy. For disability 51% showed improvement with chiropractic care. For pain 67% showed significant improvement. In a follow-up 11 months later 85% rated their improvement as either excellent or good!
Research also shows that women receiving chiropractic care during their pregnancy experience faster delivery time and less delivery discomfort.
So, the answer is clear. Seek chiropractic care during pregnancy to manage disability and pain so that you can enjoy your pregnancy!