Chiropractic care aids in maintaining the body alignment along with maintaining the spinal column, nerves and bone geometry. It has been observed there are numerous positive effects of Chiropractic care during pregnancy.
Chiropractic care is crucial due to the physiological and endocrinological changes occurring during pregnancy throughout the body such as increased spine curvature and changes in pelvis.
Chiropractic care has incorporated the care of pregnant women to assure a comfortable pregnancy and help facilitate an uncomplicated labor and delivery. It involves adjusting misaligned joints of the body mainly the spine by reducing spinal nerve stress and promoting overall health of your body.
There are numerous changes that your body goes through during pregnancy to accommodate a growing baby.
A hormone relaxin is released when you’re pregnant, which relaxes the joints along with easing labor and delivery. Sometimes, these hormones cause the ligaments to get so loose, they become structurally unstable causing pain.
Other factors leading to spine misalignment and pain during pregnancy:
- Carrying 25 to 30 extra pounds
- Weakened abdominal muscles
- Stress in the curve in your lower back
HOW CHIROPRACTIC CARE HELPS
Chiropractors are concerned of the body as a whole about getting to the root cause of pain and dysfunction instead of just treating or masking symptoms.
Various ways the chiropractic care during pregnancy can benefit the mother and the baby such as:
- Relief of Aches and Pains: Chiropractors treat subluxation that results from spinal bones with improper motion or position. Subluxation affects nerve communications between your brain and body. Subluxation can result from physical trauma, toxins in our food, body products, environment and emotions such as stress, anger, depression and anxiety. These would result in tight muscles, pain, poor posture and other conditions causing the body to enter in fight or flight response. Due to disruption in nerve communication you might experience pain and poor function in the neck, back and organs and illness. The nervous system runs through our entire body. Misalignment in one place easily affects other parts of our body. Chiropractic modification is beneficial for pregnant women. This is important for the mother’s body which is going through various changes and the health of the mother is also connected to the health of the baby. A chiropractor advises stretches to relieve back pain during pregnancy.
- Better Birthing Position: The baby’s position can be just as important as the mother’s. If the pelvis is misaligned, the baby’s natural environment is restricted during development. It can also lead to a non-optimal position for delivery. If the baby is in breech position it would prevent a non-invasive, natural birth leading to a c-section or the use of drugs that the mother would like to avoid. Inconsistent labor can be caused due to subluxated mother and a baby not in optimal position. Chiropractors might help labor to proceed normally.
- Aids Special Situation: Chiropractor helps mothers with unique situations such as mal-positioned babies or previous cesarean section even during the time of labor. Chiropractic could make the difference between a vaginal and a surgical birth.
- Emotional Health: A pregnant woman experiences excruciating pain or overwhelmed feelings like fears or stress. Along with easing physical pain you might experience emotional relief with chiropractic care. They have a deep and lasting impact on the emotional health of pregnant women.
BENEFITS OF CHIROPRACTIC CARE DURING PREGNANCY
Chiropractic care during pregnancy provides numerous benefits including:
- Maintaining a healthier pregnancy
- Controlling symptoms of nausea
- Reducing the time of labor and delivery
- Relieving back, neck or joint pain
- Preventing a potential cesarean delivery
Chiropractic care during pregnancy not only benefit women who are experiencing pain but also pregnant women looking for prenatal and postnatal benefits such as:
- Relief from back pain: Back pain is mostly caused due to loosening of joints and ligaments in preparation of the body for delivery. Routine adjustments modifications during pregnancy relieves pain or injury caused by spinal instability or loosened ligaments and joints.
- Reduction of Morning sickness or nausea: Some medications or diet changes greatly reduce nausea for some pregnant women. Chiropractors focus on a more holistic and complete option to reduce nausea and vomiting by focusing on spinal realignment. This improves nervous system function for hormonal balance. Moreover, various adjustments improve digestive issues that are causing nausea to constipation during pregnancy.
- Improved Pelvic Balance: It is important for pregnant women who are concerned about babies staying in the breech position ahead of labor. Chiropractic care during pregnancy maintains pelvic balance helping babies to move more freely into the right pre-birth position.
- Injury avoidance: Chiropractors help pregnant women to stay flexible that reduces the stress related injuries. They also help in adapting to various changes in the body during pregnancy.
- Posture Support: Pregnant women should avoid the arching of the back. This is common during pregnancy and might lead to long-term back pain and injury. With chiropractic guidance, you’ll learn various techniques for keeping a straight back to avoid injury and long-term pain.
- Better Sleep: Improper sleep posture causes restlessness and pain during pregnancy resulting in less sleep during a time when women need it the most. With guidance from a chiropractor, pregnant women can adapt to various techniques for good sleep posture.
- A Healthier Pregnancy: For many pregnant women, chiropractic care helps in reducing inflammation and supporting the immune system thus providing healthier pregnancies.
- Faster Labor Recovery: Routine modifications during pregnancy would help your body to heal and bounce back quicker since you’re starting off with your body in proper balance.
- Continued Wellness after Pregnancy: Proper alignment with chiropractic care helps new moms to avoid injury when bending to lift a baby, holding a baby for long periods, pushing strollers and lifting car seats.
- A Smoother Delivery: Many women under chiropractic care throughout pregnancies experience the birthing process simply easier. Chiropractic care provides a regular way to help keep the hips, pelvis and spine in proper alignment. Nerves functioning properly would also help women to control contractions more easily. This would make the delivery smoother for pregnant women.
POSTNATAL CHIROPRACTIC CARE
Some women would continue the chiropractic care after the baby arrives, as during breastfeeding also women need help to ease body aches. Chiropractors treat a lot of middle back and neck pain caused due to sustained posture while nursing. During pregnancy the center of gravity of women shifts forward, increasing the lower back’s curvature. After the birth of the baby, most women experience pain around their upper shoulders. All these changes in women’s bodies make life feel terrible. A chiropractor would make regular adjustments to ease of the pain and get acclimatized with body changes.
TAKEAWAY
Pregnancy and motherhood is a journey to happiness and should not turn your life into misery. Taking various steps to alleviate pain with the help of a chiropractor would make this journey smoother. Chiropractic practice is safe and effective during pregnancy that helps manage pain in your back, hips, and joints as well as establish pelvic balance. Chiropractic care helps in providing your baby with as much space as possible over the course of your pregnancy. This would also result in a faster, easier labor and delivery.
If you or anyone you know is suffering from pregnancy pain, our expert providers at Zenith Injury Relief & Wellness Clinic will take care of your health and help you recover.
Call us on 972-210-0033 to book an appointment with our specialists, and begin living your life pain-free.