Many women suffer with lower back pain during their pregnancy. When they ask the doctor overseeing their pregnancy what can be done they are given little helpful advice. They may receive no treatment or recommendations as to what to do about their low back pain.
Research has shown that women who have back pain during their pregnancy are at a higher risk for having back pain 10 years following delivery. One study showed that women with severe pain in their back toward pregnancy refrained from having more children because they were afraid the pain would recur. Also women with lower back pain during a previous pregnancy had a higher incidence of incurring a back pain again and later pregnancies.
When women are pregnant it is not uncommon to feel discomfort in the tailbone area, the groin, the small of the back, or in the pelvic joints. The pain typically can affect all areas of life. Pregnant females can describe problems sleeping, sitting for longer periods of time while working and being able to engage in mild exercise activities like walking, swimming and exercise classes. Additionally, it may be difficult for women to perform their normal chores around their house like vacuuming, carrying laundry baskets and bags of groceries, and caring for other children.
Some women resort to taking over-the-counter medicines. However this is may not be an approach that some women should take as it may give them unintended side effects.
Rather than taking medications or simply doing nothing and enduring the discomfort and alternative healthcare approach would be to see a doctor of chiropractic for possible help with lower back pain during pregnancy.
Chiropractors are specialists who receive training in the anatomical study of the bones, joints, muscles and nerves of the body. They also receive education regarding the physiology of pregnancy and the effects on women and the developing fetus.
When a woman who is pregnant visits a chiropractor for low back pain the chiropractor will first discuss the complaint and the problem thoroughly with the patient. Next the chiropractor will perform an examination including palpation, which is simply feeling the area of complaint for tenderness and spasm of muscles. The chiropractor will also check the woman’s ability to bend and move the lower back in various motions. If x-rays prior to the pregnancy are available they can be utilized but a pregnant female would not undergo x-ray examination.
If the chiropractor finds that bones or vertebrae of the spine or the pelvic joints are misaligned or moving improperly the chiropractor can perform gentle hands-on or instrument manipulation to correct the problem.
Many women find that a chiropractic approach during pregnancy to treat lower back pain is a practical, drug-free, safe, effective way to manage and care for this very common complaint.
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