Women’s Health and Pregnancy

Chiropractic has been providing effective and safe treatment to women and pregnant patients for the past 100 years.

At Aim 4 Health our practitioners are experienced in working in women’s health, pregnancy and caring for the female athlete.

Our holistic drug free approach can achieve safe and effective outcomes for patients. These techniques include

  1. Chiropractic adjustments and mobilisations
  2. Massage for muscle and ligament tension
  3. Musculoskeletal Acupuncture
  4. Nutrition
  5. Exercise prescription and advice
  6. Sleep hygiene and
  7. Webster technique (Breech presentation)

Pregnancy

Women experiencing musculoskeletal pain related to pregnancy can greatly benefit from manual therapies, including spinal manipulation, acupuncture, and massage therapy. Musculoskeletal pain is extremely common among pregnant women, with approximately:

  • 20% of pregnant women experiencing pelvic girdle pain,
  • And 50% to 85% experiencing low back pain.

Many women accept that these pregnancy discomforts and other ailments like nausea, headaches, constipation, carpal tunnel, heartburn, shortness of breath, sciatica and frequent urination as something you must endure when in fact you may not need to.

Research indicates Chiropractic can be beneficial during pregnancy and lead to better birthing outcomes.

  • “Women who receive chiropractic adjustments in their third trimester were able to carry and deliver their child with much more comfort”. Dr Irvine Henderson MD, Well Adjusted.
  • “Combining chiropractic care with standard obstetric care has been shown to be more effective in relieving pain than obstetric care alone” George, J.W. A randomized controlled trial comparing multimodal intervention and standard obstetrics care for low back pain and pelvic pain in pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2013 April 208(4):295
  • “Women who receive chiropractic care report experiencing less pain during labour” Diakow, P.R. Back pain during pregnancy and labour. JMPT 1991 Feb:14(2):116-8
  • “91% of women with sacroiliac/pelvic subluxation and lower back pain reported relief of pain with chiropractic adjustments” Daly JM, Sacroiliac subluxation: a common, treatable cause of low back pain in pregnancy. Fam Prac Res J 1991:11(2): 149-159
  • Chiropractic care throughout pregnancy helps restore balance to the many pelvic ligaments and muscles, which may lead to easier and less painful deliveries for mum and bub. Chiropractic adjustments also allow the uterus to function at its maximum potential. 1Dr Jennifer Barham-Floreani, Well Adjusted, 2009
  • A 50% reduction in the use of pain killers during delivery (Frietag MP PhD) ipractice
  • 24% reduction in labour time while second time mums averaged 39% shorter labour time cmoarerd to women who did not receive chiropractic care during their prganancy (Fallon DC) ideal practice

 

How does chiropractic work:

Post-delivery care for you and your child is also a safe, effective and drug free option for:

  • Shoulder, neck and back tension
  • Breast feeding postural strains
  • Feeding difficulties
  • Reflux and indigestion
  • Constipation and bladder control
  • Physical development
  • Ear infections
  • And Irritability

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3743693/

Can Fam Physician. 2013 Aug; 59(8): 841-842.

Optimizing pain relief during pregnancy using manual therapy

Christopher Oswald, DC, Ceara C. Higgins, DC, and Demetry Assimakopoulos, DC

Question Many of my pregnant patients have muscle and joint aches, and are reluctant to use analgesics. What is known about chiropractic care during pregnancy?

Answer As pregnant women move into their second and third trimesters, their centres of mass shift anteriorly, causing an increase in lumbar lordosis, which causes low back and pelvic girdle pain. Increasing recent evidence attests to the effectiveness and safety of treating this pain using manual therapy. Massage therapy and chiropractic care, including spinal manipulation, are highly safe and effective evidence-based options for pregnant women suffering from mechanical low back and pelvic pain.

Conclusion:

Women experiencing musculoskeletal pain related to pregnancy can greatly benefit from manual therapies, including spinal manipulation, acupuncture, and massage therapy. Access to manual therapy can be facilitated by family physicians and obstetricians by making this information available to their patients.

Owing to fears of the potential effects of medications, many women are unsure of what to do about low back and pelvic pain during pregnancy. This uncertainty can often lead to increased feelings of stress, anxiety, and helplessness. Women might report to their physicians with symptoms of pain located in the groin, pubic symphysis, or sacroiliac joint. They often believe that their pain is a result of a problem with their placenta, uterus, or developing baby.3 Common sacroiliac joint dysfunction can often cause substantial pelvic pain and can be relieved with a simple adjustment by a chiropractor in minutes. Chiropractors, as primary health care professionals, have the ability to identify and diagnose mechanical problems and to alleviate many cases of undue stress or anxiety. Chiropractic doctors are also trained to understand when symptoms are indicative of something more ominous and to refer the patient to the appropriate professional if a nonmechanical issue is suspected.

Massage therapy and chiropractic care, including spinal manipulation, are highly safe and effective evidence-based options for pregnant women suffering from mechanical low back and pelvic pain. Very few adverse effects have been reported in the literature, and those that were identified did not affect the lumbar spine, pelvis, or, most important, the developing child. Simply knowing that a safe and effective treatment exists can reassure the patient.2,4

Often, these women are put at ease within minutes because their symptoms are explained to them, as are potential treatment options to manage or correct their pain without medication. Research during the past 15 years has shown that as pregnant women move into their second and third trimesters, their centres of mass shift anteriorly, causing an increase in lumbar lordosis. This in turn causes overactivity of the low back and pelvic muscles, and hypermobility of the thoracic joints, typically at the T6 to T8 levels of the spine, lumbar spine, and pelvis. This, coupled with the expanding pelvis, leads to increased activity in the paraspinal musculature, as well as in the rectus femoris, external oblique, psoas major, and adductor longus muscles bilaterally.1,5 This suggests that the root cause of much pelvic pain during pregnancy might be mechanical (stemming from the low back or sacral joints)1,5 as opposed to hormonal. The specific muscles that need to be released to decrease mechanical pain can be easily identified by a licensed chiropractor experienced in treating pregnant patients.

Evidence shows that midthoracic pain at the end of the second trimester might be compensatory to the hyperlordosis described above.5 Also, lower cervical pain or strain increases in frequency as the pregnant woman gains weight and loses the ability to use her core muscles to move herself from side to side at night. She overuses her head as a lever, causing C6 to C7 joint compression. Providing advice on appropriate pillows and stretches can dramatically reduce these issues.

The feet obviously take more strain in the longitudinal arch tissues; appropriate shoes, orthotic adjustments, or massage can help increase comfort.

The hypertonic muscles can be easily relaxed by a registered massage therapist who works with a chiropractor. Massage therapy has been shown to be effective in treating subacute and chronic low back pain in the general population, and has been recommended by the Ottawa Panel.6 In patients with acute muscle pain or substantial spasm, acupuncture and spinal manipulation can also be used to relax soft tissues.7,8

 

Chiropractic patients often welcome the holistic perspective many chiropractors have toward the treatment of their pain. Components include, but are not limited to, advice on sleep hygiene, stress reduction, and how to become more physically active; exercise prescription; and nutritional recommendations. Addressing these components assists in the control or correction of their initial musculoskeletal complaint and has a positive effect on the patient’s overall well-being. Incorporating this holistic approach, 87% of patients demonstrate a high level of satisfaction with their chiropractic experience.10