Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy

Obie Editorial Team

Back pain is extraordinarily common during pregnancy, and it’s no wonder why. Your center of gravity is off, and you’re carrying the extra weight of a growing baby. It can be difficult to get comfortable even when you’re trying to sleep, and sometimes you might feel like there is no relief for the pain. Activities such as yoga and stretches might help, but sometimes you need a more immediate solution. Taking ibuprofen will work in the short term, but you should be careful about how much you take. For that reason, some people turn to chiropractors to ease their back pain. While an entire appointment of bone cracking spine alignment might seem like it could hurt your growing baby, a recent study shows that women who went to chiropractors for pain management were much better off.

Chiropractic care is a health technique that involves the realignment and maintenance of the spinal column, discs, bones and nerves. Though such care seems dangerous when you have an enormous baby bump, chiropractors are actually trained to work with pregnant women and accommodate their changing bodies. In fact, some are trained specifically in prenatal or postnatal care. These chiropractors might use special tables, or they might simply have expert techniques that will prevent too much pressure on the abdomen. Your chiropractors advice can even help you outside your appointment, as he or she can show you special stretches and exercises to help manage the aches and pains associated with pregnancy.

Seeing a chiropractor to relieve back pain during your pregnancy has been proven effective, and doing so will actually have benefits outside of prenatal pain management. The pelvis can easily become misaligned during your pregnancy because of the high levels of relaxin in your system, and such misalignment could prevent you from having a natural birth. By seeing a chiropractor during your pregnancy, your pelvis will be in the correct position, and your birth will have a lower risk for complications and could even be less painful.

If seeing a chiropractor doesn’t help you manage back pain during your pregnancy, you should consider speaking with your doctor about alternative remedies. Dealing with intense pain for nine full months can cause you unnecessary stress, so seeking relief should be a priority. Stress during your pregnancy can have negative side effects on your baby’s growth and development, so your pregnancy should be as painless as possible.

Source: Rebecca Sullivan: The Effects of Chiropractic Care and Managing Pain During Pregnancy and the Labor Process. Logan College of Chiropractic University Programs March 2011