While back pain is one of the most common ailments that Americans suffer from on a day to day basis pregnant women are even more likely to be affected. It is estimated that between 50 to 70 percent of pregnant women report back pain at some time during their pregnancy. The changes that the body goes through during pregnancy are truly incredible. Some of these changes are directly responsible for causing back pain.
The first major factor that causes back pain in pregnant women is the change in spinal structure and your center of gravity. As the baby and stomach grow our lower back is forced to support more weight at and angle that is increasingly difficult. Our spines our much better at supporting weight directly above our torso as to in front. This increased stress can wreak havoc on the joints of the spine and overload the surrounding musculature.
The shape of our spine will also change into what we call a hyperlordosis in many pregnancy. Hyperlordosis just means that there is and increase in the curvature of the spine. Changes in curvature of the spine either too much or too little shift the distribution of force and makes us susceptible to back pain and injuries.
Hormones also can play a factor in back pain for pregnant women. Relaxin is a hormone that allows our ligaments to stretch more and is essential to allow for enough room for the baby. Relaxin is 10x higher than the normal amount in pregnant women. Speaking as a chiropractor this can allow for misalignment to occur much easier since the ligaments simply do not hold our joint positions as they normally do.
Lastly when when pregnant our gate, or the way we walk, will begin to change. Later into pregnancy many women will begin to have more of a waddle which will put stress on the hips and lumbar spine that will again lead to back or hip pain.
As your Woodstock Chiropractor we look to insure proper alignment and function is achieved with our pregnant patients. With low force and precise adjustments we can restore proper function and alignment to decrease discomfort and back pain. We will also look at the surrounding spinal musculature to insure that overworked muscles are not developing adhesions and trigger points that can exacerbate back pain and troubles. we can We have specialized equipment that make it very comfortable for our pregnant patients to lie in a comfortable manor without putting any pressure on the stomach at all.