Healing Back Pain: Solutions

Pregnant women will likely experience lower back and pelvic pain during their pregnancy, especially in the third trimester. Weight gain, a shift in your center of gravity, hormonal increases and postural changes work together to create a ripe situation for back pain.

Weight gain makes the muscles of the back work harder to support the upper body. With this comes tension and strain. The situation is worsened by the fact that a growing fetus stretches out the abdominal muscles, making them less able to assist the muscles of the lower back in maintaining an erect spine. The hormone relaxin is released in large amounts during pregnancy to loosen the ligaments and tendons in the pelvic area. While this makes room for delivery, it also creates instability in mom’s pelvis. The pelvis is the foundation of the back; if it is unstable, the spine will not have proper support.

The type of strain a pregnant woman’s lower back undergoes can disturb the natural alignment of the spine. Tense muscles can pull on the bones of the spine, and this sometimes results in misalignment. For this problem, chiropractic care is generally viewed as the best form of treatment. Chiropractors work to realign vertebrae, ensuring that the nerves of the spine are properly protected and making correct posture possible. It must be noted that weak abdominal muscles will have to be built up again after pregnancy to prevent the same problem from happening again.

There are a number of sources for information on chiropractic care and pregnancy back pain, including the book “The Other Side of Pregnancy” written by chiropractor Trenton L. Scott. In his book, Scott explains that postural changes occurring during pregnancy often cause back pain, but that information and proper treatment can help to manage or even prevent the pain.

Some people even recommend that the newborn baby be taken to a chiropractor to check for alignment issues. During birth, the baby may undergo trauma from the pushing and pulling of delivery that affects the spine’s alignment. Chiropractic adjustments for babies are very gentle. While it is generally recognized as a safe practice to ensure proper neurological and skeletal growth, there is not extensive research to support this.

Another resource for women suffering from postural back pain is the Alexander Technique. Developed by F. M. Alexander, the technique combines mental awareness with deliberation of movement to correct postural dysfunction and relieve unnecessary tension from the muscles of the body.

The Alexander Technique emphasizes the importance of four main principles: keeping the neck loose and head straight, keeping the torso elongated, allowing the shoulders to hang naturally without tension, and letting the lower body move away from the hips. In action, the Technique encourages people to maintain these four principles in their bodies while committing everyday movements. This results in the elimination of learned or habitual postural dysfunction. For more information on the Alexander Technique, see Alexander Technique. This site contains a wealth of detailed information as well as links to helpful videos and articles about the Technique.

While most of the body’s changes during pregnancy cannot be avoided, it is possible to limit the amount of postural distortion and resulting pain you experience. You don’t have to consider severe back pain a necessary part of pregnancy; there are options and resources available to help you.

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