Back Pain During Pregnancy not "Normal"

I hear it at least a dozen times a week from expectant women in my Chiropractic practice: "You know, I just get those regular pregnancy-related aches and pains in my back. Everybody gets them." Wow, when I hear remarks like this, I so wish I could do a "mind meld." If you knew what I knew or could see what I see in my practice, you would understand that pain, discomfort and lack of function are not normal during pregnancy. Yes, they are common, but not normal. I would like you to understand why they are common and what you can do to prevent them. Let's talk.

So why do we have the impression that it is normal to have pain during pregnancy or at any other time in our lives? Has our state of health gotten so poor that we now consider pain, discomfort and other symptoms to be normal? Why are we told by our well-meaning friends, neighbours, and even healthcare providers that back pain during pregnancy should be expected?

Here are a few things to consider. Your body is designed to adapt to its ever-changing environment. Although there are very few times during your life when your body changes so quickly in such a short period of time as when you're pregnant, your body really is fully equipped to adapt. As your baby grows, your spine literally changes its shape to accommodate for a new weight distribution pattern. The curvature in your lower back is accentuated due to the increase in the size of your abdominal area.

Now, if you were to put on 25 pounds in a day, you would most likely be in a tremendous amount of pain due to the increased pressure on the joints in your spine. However, when a woman is pregnant, this weight gain can occur effortlessly and without pain over the course of forty weeks. Of course, it doesn't always happen without pain (this is the common part I referred to) and there is a very reasonable explanation for this.

A lot of women experience aches and pains during pregnancy as a result of some sort of environmental stressor, most often a physical form of stress. As a Chiropractor practicing in Ottawa who caters to the needs of expectant women, I can tell you that the most common physical stressor that I see in my office is too much sitting.

When the joints in your spine and pelvis don't move enough throughout the day, scar tissue can form. This is because sitting and a lack of proper joint motion create little injuries in your joints, and scar tissue is your body's way of repairing injury. Over time, your joints can get locked up or "subluxated" if this scar tissue is not properly broken down by the restoration of proper movement to the joint. The result of too much sitting over a number of months or years has the potential to cause just as much damage to your spine as falling out of a tree or being involved in a car accident.

Our goal with Chiropractic care during pregnancy is to ensure proper movement in the bones of the spine and pelvis to allow for an easier birth. We locate the areas where your joints are locked up or "subluxated" and provide gentle spinal adjustments to allow for better joint and nerve function. Scar tissue is gradually broken down, and your pelvis can open up as it should during the birthing process. Proper function is restored in joints of the pelvis and spine, and this greatly reduces back pain.

I encourage you to get a spinal check-up by a Chiropractor in order to detect any issues that could result in a difficult pregnancy or birth. The best time to do this is before you conceive, but you can see a Chiropractor at any point during or after your pregnancy. You don't have to be in pain to get a spinal check-up; your Chiropractor can detect problems before they cause symptoms, helping to ensure a wonderful pregnancy.

Your body is able to adapt perfectly to its environment every single time. Chiropractic care is a gentle, safe, non invasive way to support your body through your belly to baby times!