Prenatal & Postpartum Care
Are you pregnant or did you recently deliver?
Are you wondering what chiropractic can do to help?
Read on!
To all of the expecting moms and postpartum moms reading, this one is for you! There are so many people that come into my office and have absolutely no idea that chiropractic can help during pregnancy, let alone know if it’s safe during pregnancy! A recent study found that more than 75% of pregnant women experience pregnancy-related low back pain, pelvic pain, or a combination; and that this pain increases as pregnancy progresses (1). Chiropractic care is a safe, effective, and drug-free way to manage these and other musculoskeletal symptoms during pregnancy (1). There are no direct contraindications to chiropractic care during pregnancy (1).
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Chiropractic care can ease so many pains that you may experience while pregnant. Common ones include low back pain, sciatic nerve pain (pain that starts in your butt and goes down the back of your leg), sacroiliac pain (pain over the dimples on either side of your low back), pubic symphysis pain (pain in the frontal lower pelvic region), and round ligament pain (pain on the sides of your lower belly or groin area). Why do these happen? From normal changes that happen while pregnant such as weight gain, a forward shift in your center of gravity, increased lumbar lordosis (or arching of the low back), and laxity of the ligaments in the low back and pelvis (this happens as a result of a hormone called relaxin) (1). Chiropractic care can also lessen the degree of your diastasis recti (separation of the midline abdominal muscles) which is inevitable to all who are pregnant. Chiropractic care can help get the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles strong before AND AFTER you give birth with the right functional rehab.
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So what do we do in the office when you’re pregnant? Like any other person, we feel for restricted motion in joints and adjust to restore that motion! Once you’re showing, our table breaks away at the belly so you can easily still lay face down comfortably. But if that’s still uncomfortable to you, it’s no problem, and we can do everything on your back and side. If needed, we are trained in Webster technique and will perform that as well (Webster addresses restrictions in the pelvis and low back in pregnant mamas, and it can give baby the right environment to move freely). We also work on the tight muscles and trigger points with a variety of methods. If you have any of the pains listed above, they will more than likely be addressed by including some soft tissue work! Getting rid of trigger points and tight muscles calls for functional rehab - why? Because we must activate and strengthen the correct muscles so that the trigger points don’t keep coming back! We perform this functional rehab on EVERY pregnant patient to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and get the core activating correctly. If you know us, you know that belly breathing is the center of all of this rehab! You will learn how to do it very well in our office!
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I’m not forgetting those who are postpartum! First of all, CONGRATS! You did it. You may or may not have had chiropractic throughout your pregnancy. If you did, great!! You’ve jumpstarted your road to recovery. If you didn’t, I’m so glad you are here now! Remember the hormone ‘relaxin’ that makes your ligaments more lax while pregnant? Well, that hormone can stick around in your body for almost half a year AFTER you give birth. This means that you’re not off the hook yet. When your ligaments are more loose than normal, this means your joints can become TOO mobile, aka they move too much. This is where strengthening through functional rehab becomes extremely important. Additionally, this functional rehab can help strengthen the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles (which will help close that diastasic recti). A common condition postpartum I also see is those coming in with neck and upper back pain from nursing and caring for your little babe. This can be helped with the right mix of adjusting, soft tissue work, and rehab as well.
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I hope this helps answer any questions you may have about chiropractic care during your pregnancy or postpartum. We LOVE helping mamas out there get through pregnancy with as little pain as possible, go into delivery as strong as possible, and rehab and strengthen your body once you’ve welcomed your little one into this world!
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https://www.acatoday.org/News-Publications/Publications/ACA-Blogs/ArtMID/6925/ArticleID/394
