Common Conditions
Pregnancy Care
Pregnancy is truly a magical experience, but for many it can be difficult on the body.
Common concerns we see in practice with pregnant women are neck pain, headaches, sciatica, pelvic instability, pubic symphysitis, lower back and pelvic pain, diaphragm spasms and the list goes on.
Postural and hormonal changes during pregnancy contribute to any of the above pains, but sleeping position also affects these problems significantly.
Chiropractic care is a drugless and great way to help relieve many of these aches
and pains during pregnancy. Studies have shown up to 84% of women report relief of
their back pain during pregnancy following chiropractic care. Chiropractic care can also
be beneficial for infants in the weeks following their birth.
Doctors of chiropractic are trained to detect and correct joint dysfunction such as joint misalignment, improper joint motion, and associated muscle tension. Chiropractic adjustments help restore normal alignment and motion to joints that have become misaligned or fixated. Apart from relieving discomfort and improving alignment, adjustments have been proposed that increased neural activation through adjustments will help recruit motor fibres (muscles) and improve synchronisation of motor unit firing (sensorimotor integration). In lay terms this means that a spinal adjustment can help strengthen surrounding muscles around the joint being treated. Gentle stretching can also be used to relieve the muscle tension that often builds up in the muscles that surround the spine. Special adjusting procedures are used during pregnancy and change as you move through each trimester. The adjustments are modified to be more gentle and to work with and around the growing abdomen.
A special chiropractic technique called the Webster Technique can be used to reduce
intrauterine constraint. The Webster Technique works to align the pelvis, reduce stress
in the ligaments supporting the uterus, and give the baby as much room as possible to
move. A study from The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics showed 82% of breech babies turned vertex (head down) on their own when the Webster Technique was used to balance the pelvis.
Chestnut, J.L.& Docherty, D. (1999) The Effects of 4 and 10 Repetition Maximum Weight Training Protocols on Neuromuscular Adaptation. J. Strength Cond. Res.13 (4):353-359
