Pregnancy is an exciting time in a woman’s life. During this time, she becomes very in tune with her body. She is more aware of her body and the changes since she is now responsible for not only herself, but her growing baby as well. During pregnancy, a woman’s body will experience the effects of different hormones within the body. The levels of the hormone, relaxin, will increase. The ligaments supporting the joints will also start to relax in order to accommodate the growing baby. With increased laxity, there is greater opportunity for the vertebrae, sacrum, and ilium to shirt as the amount of weight increases. When this shift happens, the segments of the spine often misalign.
The most common complaint during pregnancy is lower back pain or sacroiliac joint pain. This can begin during the first trimester and if left untreated, can continue during the entire pregnancy. A study done by Daly et al, illustrated that 91% of women under chiropractic care were able to get relief from sacroiliac joint pain and dysfunction. The study also found that while under regular chiropractic care, the signs and symptoms associated with sacroiliac pain had gone away.
As the mother’s belly continues to grow, it will increase the stress on her lower back. Regular adjustments will help the pelvis and sacrum to align properly as well as ensure that there is no interference to the mother’s nervous system that could cause added stress on the baby.
In our office, we are able to work with expectant mothers all the way to term. We have pregnancy pillows to help with comfort for the mother during the adjustment. We also use a variety of techniques to help restore proper function to the central nervous system. Each expectant mother is different and will be treated as such. We are able to utilize Full Spine, Thompson Drop, and Activator techniques.
Chiropractic is safe and effective during this exciting time. It will help to benefit the mother while carrying to term and will also be beneficial for the baby to be adjusted after they are born. The technique used on babies is quite different from the techniques used on a grown adult or even developing child. Babies are adjusted with the same amount of force used to test the ripeness of a tomato, so it is very gentle. Babies benefit from chiropractic to ensure that after the birth, their central nervous system is functioning at its best. Adjustments on infants help with colic, difficulty breastfeeding, sleeplessness, and more.
For questions regarding infant or pregnancy adjustments, please call our office at 470-308-3754. We look forward to serving you and your little ones.
