Chiropractic care of the human frame is appropriate at all stages of life: Newborn, childhood, adulthood, geriatric care, and during pregnancy. Chiropractic care is often misunderstood. Let me attempt to set the record straight. Chiropractic care aims to optimize your body’s health by removing any interference to the body’s nervous system. Interference comes in the form of physical and inflammatory irritations to the nerves exiting our spinal column. These physical and inflammatory irritations develop as a result of stress – and stress comes in many forms: Injuries, repetitive strain, postural, emotional, and chemical. Our body adjusts to these sources of stress with slight alterations to the positions of our spinal bones (vertebrae). This is the body’s innate stress response – a survival mechanism. It is a brilliant short-term strategy, but if not resolved can lead to problems down the road.
In addition to the typical stresses of life – relationships, work, family, chemical and physical – pregnancy adds unique stresses to the body: Worry about the health of your baby and the physical changes occurring in your own body: Human life is growing inside of you; weight is gained; posture changes; increased physical stress placed on your body’s spinal column.
The most obvious sign that stress has led to spinal joint problems is the onset of pain. Pain, however, is your body’s alarm system. When the alarm is going off, the problem is already well underway. In our pain-focused society, it is hard to wrap your head around the notion that there could be a problem even if there is no pain (yet). But, this model of understanding how the body copes with stress explains the process of physical problems and pain. You cannot avoid stress. But you don’t want to wait until pain is present. That’s where wellness care, like chiropractic and massage, come into play.
A very common joint irritation to the human frame occurs in the pelvis – between the sacrum and the iliac bones, known as the sacroiliac (SI) joints. The sacrum and iliac bones move relative to one another. Twists to the pelvis occur frequently. During pregnancy, these bones move even more to accommodate the changing pelvis. Unfortunately, with more movement comes the opportunity for more twists. This can, and does, lead to back pain. This obviously affects mom. But, the movement of the sacrum can also create tension on the uterus and, in turn, baby. Tension on the uterus can lead to an environment whereby the growing baby has a hard time moving around. Sometimes, this leads to the breached position. In the final stages of pregnancy chiropractic manoeuvres can help restore balance to the pelvis, reduce uterine tension, and allow the baby to turn. But, instead of waiting till then, I recommend to all my pregnant patients to get treated throughout pregnancy to reduce the likelihood of pain and to keep the pelvis as balanced as possible.
I speak of this subject from two perspectives: First, I’m a father and helped my wife stay pain free and balanced during pregnancy. Secondly, I’m a chiropractor and I want everyone to be pain free and living as optimally as possible, especially during the most exciting time of a woman’s life: pregnancy