Are You Experiencing Pregnancy-Related Back Pain?
Back pain is a common problem during pregnancy. In fact, the American Pregnancy Association reports that an estimated 50 to 70 percent of pregnant women experience it. While it’s not a life-threatening symptom, it can make it more difficult to accomplish everything you need to get done before the baby arrives. And it can put a damper on this joyous time. At PCH Chiropractic, our Dana Point prenatal chiropractors have the ability to ease this pain and discomfort and help this be a more magical, productive time.
General Information About Pregnancy-Related Back Pain
You may have back pain for a few reasons.
You might have had some stress or traumas on your spine or pelvis that can be aggravated as your body is changing and moving throughout the pregnancy. As a result, you experience pain, weakness, numbness, or tingling that may extend from your lower back down your legs, usually only one leg. Some of those symptoms are related to a well-known condition called sciatica. You may also just have pain in your lower back. It’s not normal for your back to hurt during pregnancy. A common condition called Vertebral Subluxation, or Subluxations for short can become more pronounced during pregnancy. Subluxations are misalignments in the spine and/or pelvis that can adversely affect the function of your nervous system. These interferences in the nervous system can result in Lower back pain, can affect organ function, and even affect your ability to have a normal labor and delivery.
It doesn’t help that your body releases a hormone to loosen your tissue to prepare for delivery. While it’s for the pelvic tissue, the loosening effect will impact other tissue in your body, including your neck, mid back, and lower back.
As your unborn baby grows, he or she may place pressure on the sciatic nerve. This leads to the aforementioned sciatic symptoms as well. In many cases, this happens during the third trimester, you know, when everything’s getting a bit tight in there for your little one.
Your center of gravity is no longer the same. Therefore, you may have walked comfortably before without any problems. But, because your weight has shifted to the front, your center of gravity has changed. Ultimately, this puts stress on your back as your body is working harder to keep you upright.
Gaining weight, in general, can increase your back pain, particularly when you sit for prolonged periods. However, it can affect you when you stand as well. Not to mention, if you have any emotional stress, you exacerbate any back pain even further, no matter the original culprit of it.
How Chiropractic Care Helps
Our Dana Point chiropractors have special training with pregnant women. They have even been the ones to train other Doctors in how to care for the pregnant patient. Our chiropractic “adjustments” are safe for both the Mom and the developing baby. The adjustments may help correct any misalignments contributing to your pain and other symptoms. This can especially be beneficial for easing pressure on your sciatica nerve.
Another great benefit of chiropractic care when pregnant is making sure that the pelvis is well aligned and moving the way it should before and during the delivery. This makes the delivery process easier on the mother and on the baby and can help prevent complications. Case studies involving prenatal chiropractic care have pointed to easier labor and delivery when compared to those who did not benefit from chiropractic care during pregnancy.
Besides having a direct correlation to your back pain, chiropractic care can also ease your stress. Whether you realize it or not, being in pain can worsen your current stress levels. By easing that, we can ultimately make your pregnancy a happier one.
When you visit us, you’ll find that our care is detailed and very comprehensive. We will take a detailed history of your current and past health issues. At PCH Chiropractic, we pride ourselves on being good listeners. We will then do a thorough spinal and postural examination, to include advanced 3D computerized postural measurements ( we never X-ray pregnant patients). We’ll also provide lifestyle advice as well as guidance on posture correction. You can then take steps to correct your posture, change negative habits, and ease back pain when you’re not in our office. Plus, lifestyle advice can help you have a healthier pregnancy, and studies have shown a connection between easier, less complicated labor and delivery and chiropractic care.
By scheduling a chiropractic appointment with us and routinely seeing a Dana Point chiropractor from our practice during your pregnancy, you’ll make this time more pleasant and easier on you. We should note we tailor your care to your needs based on which trimester you’re in.
Book an appointment with PCH Chiropractic today for back pain relief during your pregnancy and to help ensure a more comfortable overall pregnancy and labor. It’s all-natural, known to cause little to no side effects, and beginning is as easy as dialing 949-503-2691 or using our online tool.
