Chiropractic manipulation is safer than medical management of low back pain. Chiropractic management is greatly superior to medical management in terms of scientific validity, safety, cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction
Low back pain and pregnancy seem to go hand in hand. Studies have shown that up to 80% of pregnant women experience low back pain. However, common does not mean normal, nor should it be considered untreatable. Such pain shouldn’t have to be endured. Chiropractic is an effective treatment providing relief from low back pain during pregnancy. 4 However, just because it is common does not mean that it should be viewed as normal or untreatable. There is effective treatment and relief for low back pain during pregnancy.
There are many different reasons for back pain during pregnancy.
- Weight gain adds stress to the joints
- Hormonal changes causes joint laxity decreasing support for the joints
- Center of gravity changes and muscles try to compensate for this change
These things lead to muscular imbalances, increased muscle fatigue and abnormal strain on the lower back.
A pregnant woman cannot use standard approaches to reduce pain such as medication or surgery due to side effects on their unborn child. Some medical doctors will suggest stretching and hot baths. Although this may relieve the pain temporarily, over the long term back pain will persist. If a medical doctor isn’t aware of the benefits of chiropractic a pregnant woman may decide to do nothing to treat the problem and suffer with the pains until the baby is born. Many obstetric physicians and midwives are increasingly using chiropractic for their patients for low back pain relief. In conjunction with traditional medical care, chiropractic has been found to decrease pregnancy pains, decrease labor times, improve the quality of life while pregnant and decrease the risk of serious complications overall
Chiropractic Helps Low Back Pain Associated With Pregnancy
Researchers identified the sacroiliac joints of the pelvis as being responsible for the majority of low back pain cases in pregnancy. Researchers found 70% of women were relieved of low back pain caused by the sacroiliac joints through spinal manipulation
Studies Show Chiropractic Better Than Muscle Relaxants for Low Back Pain
A study published in the July 2004 Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics compared the effects of chiropractic adjustments to muscle relaxants in patients’ low back pain that lasted two to 12 weeks. The three groups of patients included those with chiropractic adjustments and a placebo, those receiving muscle relaxants with fake adjustments, and finally a group with placebo medications and fake adjustments. The results showed for pain and severity, the chiropractic group did better than the other two groups. The conclusion: “Statistically, the chiropractic group responded significantly better than the control group with respect to a decrease in pain scores.”