Explaining Chiropractic Care
Explaining Chiropractic Care: Pregnancy, Childhood and Beyond
What do you think of when you hear the word “Chiropractic”? Do terms such as low back pain, sciatica or whiplash come to mind? Have you heard that once you start going, you have to keep going? There have been many misconceptions about chiropractic care throughout its history, mostly made by people who have never gone for treatment. Many people believe that it is only useful for back pain, but it actually helps much more than that.
It is an entire form of healthcare all its own, complete with its own diagnostic and treatment systems based on the concept that the nervous system coordinates all of the body's functions, and that disease results from a lack of normal nerve function. Chiropractic uses adjustments of misaligned vertebrae in the spine to relieve pressure on nerves coming from the spinal cord. While many people feel pain relief as a result of their treatments, chiropractors treat much more than pain. Many patients find such relief for many different types of problems that they want to come back periodically to sustain their improved quality of life! Not because they have to. If something helped you improve your health and well being, wouldn’t you want to continue doing it?
One area where chiropractic care is especially beneficial is in treating pregnant women. Pregnancy is a time of many physiological and biochemical changes within a woman’s body. Weight gain and posture changes strain the spine, causing pain and imbalances. Adding anywhere from 20-70 pounds in such a short period of time can be a lot for anyone’s body to handle. The difference with pregnant women though, is that the weight isn’t evenly distributed throughout the body. Since it is mostly carried out in front, it puts added strain on the low back area.
The health of the baby is directly related to the health of the mother, so it is important for her body to work as efficiently as possible. Nerves from her spine must communicate with the uterus, and proper blood flow must be available to nourish the developing baby. Misalignments in the spine can interfere with this essential communication and cause problems in the pregnancy. For these reasons, chiropractic care during pregnancy has been proven to be safe and effective
Imbalances in the pelvis can also lead to uneven tension in the pelvic floor muscles and the uterus itself. The uterus is connected to the bones in the pelvis by many ligaments. As the uterus grows, the ligaments get stretched. Any torsion in the pelvis will torque the uterine ligaments, creating uneven tension across the uterus. This can affect how the baby is positioned within the womb, possibly leading to a breech, posterior baby or otherwise mal-positioned baby. Almost all breech babies are now delivered by C-section, so if this is something a couple wishes to avoid, chiropractic care may be able to help. Twisting in the pelvis, pelvic floor muscles or uterus may also lead to a more complicated and prolonged labor and delivery. Chiropractic adjustments to the mom keep her spine and pelvis properly aligned, ensuring proper communication with her baby, and allowing the best possible position throughout pregnancy and birth.
Chiropractic care throughout pregnancy may help with:
Heartburn/Indigestion
Morning sickness/Nausea
Low back pain
Hip pain
Rib Pain
Breech babies
Posterior baby/back labor
Premature Contractions
Sciatica
Swollen ankles and feet
Headaches
Neck pain
Midback pain
Constipation
Hemorrhoids
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Pubic Symphysis Pain (groin pain)
Pubic area pressure (feels like baby will “fall out”)
Dizziness
Meralgia Paresthetica
Almost everything that is regulated by the nervous system can be positively affected by chiropractic adjustments. Many women turn to alternative treatments such as chiropractic during pregnancy since this is not an optimal time to take medications or have surgery.
Many chiropractors receive special training in treating pregnant women, babies and children. The Webster Technique is a technique specifically designed to treat pregnant women. Other chiropractic techniques are modified to use the least amount of force possible to make an adjustment, and special tables and pregnancy pillows allow room for a growing belly.
There is an exciting trend happening within the birthing community, as women are “rediscovering” their options for a more natural pregnancy and birth. Many women feel empowered knowing that their body is an intricate system that can accomplish amazing feats. And they are excited to know that there are many safe and natural ways to treat common pregnancy problems to help them accomplish these feats. Chiropractic is just one of the natural ways to help ease the growing pains of pregnancy.
Babies and children also respond very well to chiropractic care. The birth process can be very traumatic even in the most natural of births. With many of the interventions and procedures used in today’s hospitals, birth trauma is becoming an epidemic. Some things that can lead to birth trauma include pitocin, epidurals, C-sections, vacuum suction, forceps, laboring on back, too rapid delivery, prolonged labor, inability to move freely, mal-position in utero and exposure to toxins in pregnancy. A healthy birth starts with a healthy pregnancy, and prenatal chiropractic care is one way to help prevent problems during delivery.
Getting your baby’s spine checked shortly after birth can catch small injuries before they become major problems. Signs that a baby may need to evaluated by a chiropractor include difficulty latching, preference to nurse one side more than the other, persistent head tilt or rotation, colic, arching back, frequently spitting up/GERD, constipation, diarrhea, excessive gas and bloating, and ear infections. Older babies may have problems cross crawling, holding their head up, food allergies, and colds or upper respiratory infections. Children respond to chiropractic care to help with bed-wetting, growing pains, asthma, allergies, headaches, constipation, and possibly ADHD or autism.
The idea behind chiropractic is not that it is a cure for anything, but that if the nervous system is balanced, then all of the organs and systems affected will balance out as well. If we can maintain balance within our body, many problems should be able to clear up on their own, or at least have a better chance to respond to other forms of treatment.
“The doctor of the future will interest patients in the care of the human frame.”
-Thomas Edison
-Thomas Edison