General Pregnancy Wellness | Pain Prevention
Why Prenatal Care is Important
Prenatal care can help moms to feel more empowered and educated about their pregnancy and changing body! As a Denver based prenatal chiropractor, Dr. Dani immediately begins focusing on pelvic alignment at each visit along with providing education and support about what to expect, common changes during pregnancy and modifications of daily activity & exercise to help reduce the likelihood of concerns later in pregnancy or postpartum.
How to Prevent Problems During Pregnancy
Pregnancy pain prevention can be as easy as looking at areas of concern prior to pregnancy such as a chronic hip issue, low back issue, etc. This can be helpful in getting an early start in areas that might be a bit more troublesome as pregnancy progresses. Dr. Dani also likes to chat about things like diastasis, breathing and bracing patterns, movement control and provide modifications specific to your day to day activities or workout routine to help reduce stress on the core and pelvic floor. Working on neck and mid back prenatally can help postpartum pain, which can be common due feeding and carrying a little. There are so many things that prevention can help with!
What Helps With Pregnancy Pain?
When it comes to pregnancy pain there are quite a few options. Obviously, the first choice here is going to be seeking out a prenatal chiropractor! Dr. Dani firmly believes that Prenatal Chiropractic and Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy should be a required part of the pregnancy experience. These two professions (especially when combined) make such a huge difference in the entire prenatal, birth and postpartum experience. Other GREAT options are massage and acupuncture!
“Dr. Dani is extremely thorough and listens to all of your concerns while adjusting her plan of action to fit your needs for each visit. Not only does she adjust, but she gives you all the information you could need to try to help your body function as best possible with or without chiropractic care. I’ve been a patient for many years and am currently seeing her throughout my first pregnancy, HIGHLY recommend to help with all of those pregnancy aches and pains and get that baby in the best position for birth!”
Is Pregnancy Pain Normal?
Pregnancy pain is commonly thought of as normal, but the majority of the time we are able to find some degree of relief with the combination of an individualized assessment, treatment, at-home care and sometimes coordinated care with a team of providers such as Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy, acupuncture, etc. Pregnancy pains are commonly dismissed as “just a part of pregnancy,” but this is not okay and moms deserve to have a thorough evaluation and individualized recommendations.
Why Pregnancy Back Pain?
Biomechanics change during pregnancy! The belly and chest grow, which pulls momma’s center of gravity forward. Since the belly muscles are expanding, they are less efficient at contracting so there’s commonly a touch less core stability. If momma finds herself clenching her glutes or leaning back more to accommodate these changes, we really start to alter which muscles are firing up to keep us upright and moving. Little guys meant for stability start kicking in to try to help move our bodies and taking on extra work which can lead to some tension and discomfort. There are a lot of factors that could contribute to back pain during pregnancy, but the long and short of it is- things are changing and muscles are compensating so see a prenatal chiropractor for an individualized assessment to determine what’s going on with YOU!
Why Do I Have Pain During Pregnancy?
Pain during pregnancy is common, but not necessarily normal. Pain during pregnancy can be caused by a whole list of things ranging from: change in ligament laxity, muscle compensation, changes in how momma is moving, sleeping position changes during pregnancy, weight/ center of gravity shifting forward and momma’s body is compensating. This might sound like a lot and slightly overwhelming, but no worries! There IS HOPE and things can be calmed down. Finding the right provider to assess what is specifically going on with you is key. A pregnancy chiropractor will explain what’s going on, treat you and then show you what you can do at home to help reduce it or even completely eliminate it!
Why Pelvic Pain Pregnancy?
Pelvic pain is especially common in pregnancy, but that doesn’t mean mommas have to live with it! As you can imagine, pelvic pain can be a fun little combo of a whole bunch of different things. Ligament laxity (this alone does not cause pelvic pain- it’s lack of muscular control and/or asymmetry from side to side), history of pelvic pain, a history of playing certain sports, muscular imbalances, weak core and even pelvic floor tone can be the culprits. While we’re on the topic of pelvic floor, let’s make a note that KEGALS ARE NOT THE GO-TO ANSWER. It isn’t uncommon to actually have too much TENSION in the pelvic floor which can be causing the discomfort or pain. So, if you have pelvic pain or discomfort please do not do Kegals unless a pelvic floor PT has evaluated the tone of your pelvic floor and recommended them. Rant over. If you have pelvic pain, please seek out a Pregnancy Chiropractor and Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist!
Chiropractic Treatment in Pregnancy
Dr. Dani uses Webster Technique along with other gentle methods and assessments to determine what a momma’s changing body needs. There’s prevention, pain relief, education and at-home care recommendations/ modifications. At Balance Chiro and Rehab, it’s SO much more than just chiropractic and adjusting during pregnancy is very different from the typical adjusting. Dr. Dani modifies her pregnancy adjusting by leaning more into soft tissue work around the low back and pelvis during this time. Joints already tend to be a bit more mobile so the concentration is more on releasing areas of tension and stabilizing. There’s also more gentle, direct work with the ligaments of the pelvis and uterus!
Is Chiropractic Treatment Safe in Pregnancy?
Prenatal Chiropractic is safe and effective during pregnancy.
Can You Have Chiropractic Treatment While Pregnant?
YES! Yes, yes and yes. Chiropractic treatment during pregnancy can be utilized for preventative care or for pain relief/ management. Pregnant mommas can and should have chiropractic care during pregnancy AND postpartum! Prenatal Chiropractic can help with common concerns such as pelvic pain, low back pain, pubic bone pain, rib pain, mid back pain, exercise modification, pain turning over in bed, neck pain and headaches, education and SO MUCH MORE!
Can You See a Chiropractor While Pregnant?
Yes. Chiro care throughout pregnancy has been shown (never guaranteed :P) to decrease labor times and improve birth outcomes! Check out more through the Webster Technique.
Can a Chiropractor Hurt My Baby?
Pregnancy chiropractic care is GENTLE and works to balance momma’s body, reduce aches and pains and is commonly used as preventative for pregnancy pain in later pregnancy. It’s also used by many for better birth outcomes! Prenatal chiropractic care does not cause any harm to an unborn baby.