Chiropractic Care for Pregnant Women

This post is dedicated to education for all the mamas to be, and a little bit more about why I have a such a big passion for helping you to feel your best. In my last year at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, I was selected to partake in a Doctors Without Borders mission trip to the Dominican Republic. It was one of the most life changing trips I have ever taken, allowing me to grow as a health care provider, chiropractor, and person. We provided free chiropractic care to underserved areas, and had the privilege of treating a wide variety of conditions and patients, including many children and pregnant women.

One pregnant patient in particular will forever stand out in my memory. This young mama to be came to the clinic complaining of low back pain. After her treatment with me, she stood up looking bewildered. She was shocked that the pain was no longer there. Despite having minimal personal belongings, and the language barrier between us, she took the bracelet off her wrist to give to me as a token of her appreciation. It was in this moment I realized the monumental impact of chiropractic care on prenatal health and wanted to dedicate my career to it.

 So many pregnant women think pain is a normal part of pregnancy, almost like a rite of passage. 50-80% of women suffer from low back pain while pregnant (1). There are lots of factors around why this happens including things like our job, activities of daily living, sleeping, and more. In particular, the prenatal population has changes in the curve of the spine from your expanding uterus with baby inside (aka your baby bump in the front, causes your back to arch more than it should) (2).

Additionally, there is hormone (called relaxin) that helps relaxes the ligaments in your body so that your pelvis can allow for the baby to get through (2). This can also cause other ligaments that normally stabilize your body to allow joints to have more movement which can result in discomfort (2).

This is where chiropractic care and the Webster technique comes in.

Developed 30 years ago by Dr. Larry Webster, DC the Webster technique is a protocol intended for pregnant women that uses a specific chiropractic analysis to assess the problem, and then pelvic adjustments and related soft tissue therapy to help solve it (3). The goal is to reduce the negative symptoms caused from your pelvis (specifically your sacroiliac joint), as well as your growing uterus, that causes the surrounding musculature and ligaments to become tight and tender (3). 

Things to consider that may make you more likely to have pregnancy related low back pain include (1):

• Previous history of low back pain

• Previous history of low back pain during pregnancy

• Multiparity pregnancy (having more than one bun in the oven)

Last year I had the opportunity to attend a Webster Technique seminar from the The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). The seminar was education based, as well as hands on, with a great deal of emphasis on the benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy. There are so many wonderful, amazing, confusing, and scary changes happening to your body during pregnancy. Chiropractors can help alleviate the physical stressors that are placed on your body during pregnancy, as well as be an additional member of your health care team to make mamas-to-be feel as comfortable and supported as possible throughout this journey.

I feel so lucky to be able to help people through this amazing time in their lives, and encourage each and every person to be informed about all of their available options throughout their pregnancy. If you’re pregnant and thinking about getting chiropractic care, let’s chat!

 Xoxo,

Reference:

1. Stuber KJ, Smith DL. Chiropractic treatment of pregnancy-related low back pain: a systematic review of the evidence. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics. 2008 Jul 1;31(6):447-54. 

2. Peterson CK, Mühlemann D, Humphreys BK. Outcomes of pregnant patients with low back pain undergoing chiropractic treatment: a prospective cohort study with short term, medium term and 1 year follow-up. Chiropractic & manual therapies. 2014 Dec;22(1):15.

3. Jeanne Ohm DC, Joel Alcantara DC. The Webster Technique: Definition, Application and Implications.