Pregnancy-Related Back Pain and Chiropractic

Spinal manipulation is a safe and effective way to treat pregnancy-related back pain. Manipulation along with soft tissue treatment to reduce muscle tension and an individualized exercise rehab program to optimize stability can result in very successful outcomes. As noted below the prevalence of pregnancy-related back pain is relatively high.

75% of women undergoing chiropractic manipulation report significant
pain reduction

“Researchers estimate that between 45-76% of pregnant women will experience low back pain at some stage of their pregnancy. Up to 33% rate their pain as severe. Pregnancy-related low back pain leads to lower quality of life, restricted activity, and disability – with almost 25% of pregnant women taking sick leave for LBP. The recurrence rate for pregnancy-related low back
pain is 85-90%. Consequently, almost 1 in 5 women who report P-LBP during a first pregnancy will avoid future pregnancies due to fear of returning symptoms.”

Changes During Pregnancy

The most common cause is altered biomechanics from an increase in both ligament laxity and anterior weight gain. The hormone relaxin increases 10x during pregnancy to prepare a woman’s body for birth. Relaxin, however, affects every ligament in the body not only those related to the birthing process. As the baby grows, mom gains wait most notably around her abdomen. This places added strain on the ligaments, lumbar facet joints, discs, and sacroiliac joints while simultaneously stretching the abdominal muscles to accommodate for the growing uterus. All of these factors result in a diminished ability to stabilize the lumbar spine often resulting in symptoms of pain.

 Women who seek chiropractic care throughout pregnancy may have an added benefit of shorter labor times.

Chiropractic Care for Pregnancy-Related Back Pain

Chiropractic care attempts to restore normal joint mobility, muscle tension, and stability. This approach often results in great improvement with pregnancy-related back pain. Several studies state “almost 75% of women undergoing chiropractic manipulation report significant pain reduction and clinically significant improvements in disability. Women who seek chiropractic care throughout pregnancy may have an added benefit of shorter labor times. Incidentally, postpartum LBP also responds to spinal manipulation- approximately ten times greater than watchful waiting.”

If you or anyone you know is experiencing pregnancy related low back pain, send them to come see us. We want soon-to-be-moms to enjoy their pregnancy not suffer through it!
References can be found at ChiroUp.  Thanks for reading!