Chiropractic Care for Lower Back Pain During Pregnancy

Weight gain during pregnancy can cause lower back pain

Depending on a woman’s weight prior to pregnancy, the standard recommendations suggest that women should put on between 15 and 40 pounds. Women often gain more than that, though. For instance, Mothering Magazine user justKate of Gloucester Point, Virginia, noted that she gained 45 pounds. Amylcd commented that she gained 65 pounds. Canadian mother quantumleap said that she added 80 pounds.

In other words, the additional weight is sometimes substantial. Any increase in weight will place additional stress on the spine. Because of that, one of the primary health conditions experienced by pregnant women is lower back pain (LBP) – impacting approximately half of them, according to a 2011 review from the journal Hippokratia.

Although this form of back pain is incredibly common, often women become frustrated with their doctors, according to chiropractor Victoria Arcadi, DC, of Winnetka, California. “These suffering women are told by their doctors that they need to wait until they have the baby to get relief,” she says. “Meanwhile, there is no known medical treatment.”

Chiropractic seems effective as treatment

Often women needlessly lose quality-of-life during pregnancy when clinical trials have shown that manipulation by a chiropractor alleviates lower back pain in most cases – often with just a single treatment.

A landmark study important to the chiropractic community was featured in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1988. The study reviewed almost 900 pregnant Swedish women in their 20th, 30th, and 35th weeks. Every participant was diagnosed with low back pain. However, the pain was much worse for some women than others. For 79 of the women, the pain was so bad it was disabling. These women were followed for 45 to 90 days following childbirth.

Ten of the women in the study were given joint mobilization therapies. Seven experienced full and lasting pain relief, while three experienced temporary relief that returned.

These impressive results show that joint mobilization, typically targeting a diagnosis of sacroiliac dysfunction, is an effective way for a chiropractor to treat pregnancy-related LBP. “Complete relief was only found when treatment included adjustments or manipulation,” says Dr. Arcadi, noting that the results suggest that chiropractic can “alleviate back pain in at least 70 percent of all patients from this study, with adjustments to the SI joints.”

Chiropractors who work at correcting the cause

Are you pregnant and experiencing lower back pain? At Health Star Clinic, our chiropractic treatments improve the bodies’ natural functionality, which provides lasting pain relief and helps to prevent future illnesses. Get help now!