Chiropractic care to relieve back pain during pregnancy

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 low 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 received chiropractic care the first time she was pregnant and that she had suffered a lot of low back pain. This article will discuss how back pain can result during pregnancy and how chiropractic care can relieve back pain.

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. Not only did she experience very little back pain, but she also had a very easy and quick delivery of her baby. During one of her visits to her obstetrician, while she was pregnant, the obstetrician told her, “I would never have survived my pregnancies if it had not been for my chiropractor.” I have found that obstetric professionals have become more receptive to chiropractic care for pregnant patients over the years and suggest and recommend that patients see chiropractors for treatment, especially for back pain.

Back discomfort can develop during pregnancy due to postural changes that occur due to changes in the mother’s weight load. As the baby grows, the mother’s posture shifts forward. This can put pressure on the joints in your lower back and pelvis. If this occurs, misalignments and abnormal movements can irritate the pelvic and spinal joints, causing back discomfort.

Chiropractic care is a safe and gentle way to realign the lower spine and pelvis and relieve pain. For this reason, obstetricians and primary care physicians recommend their pregnant patients to chiropractors because it is a non-drug alternative therapy for low back pain relief.

In addition, a pelvis normally aligns the baby so that it is correctly positioned during the various stages of pregnancy. Studies show that women who receive chiropractic care during pregnancy and especially during the last trimester tend to have faster and easier deliveries of their babies. Notably, chiropractors do not rotate or reposition babies during pregnancy. This is the realm of the obstetrician. All chiropractic care does is make sure that the pelvis and spine are in an optimal position. Some chiropractors use the Webster Technique, which is a gentle and safe method to help with the alignment of a woman’s pelvis to relieve back discomfort. The Webster Technique is one of the many forms of treatment that chiropractors can provide to relieve back pain during pregnancy.