Low back pain has become an accepted part of pregnancy for many moms to be. Bad posture in pregnant women is a very common cause of low back pain. However, there are safe and natural ways to get rid of this type of pain through proper posture and chiropractic care.
All pregnant women experience changes in their weight and center of gravity. They
tend to stand with an altered posture because of these changes. We all have seen pregnant women standing with their hands on their hips. We know the ‘look’ where the:
– knees are locked backward
– pelvis is tilted forward
– upper back is leaning backward
– shoulders are rounded forward, and
– head is translated forward.
These changes cause a lot of low back pain even though this posture seems normal for pregnant women. The combination simply puts a lot of stress on the low back and pelvis joints. It leads to low back pain and discomfort.
The good news is that this posture can be corrected through practicing proper posture habits and can alleviate the pain. Chiropractors are specialists in teaching these basic guidelines for better posture:
– stand with your knees slightly bent and your feet shoulder width apart
– contract your abdominal muscles
– tuck your tail bone slightly forward to keep your pelvis centered.
– draw your shoulders back
– hold your head directly over your shoulders
This corrected posture can feel awkward and possibly difficult for many pregnant women at first. It takes practice for the correct posture to be comfortable and easy. Some common difficulties reported by pregnant women are weak abdominal muscles and difficulty holding the shoulders back. It may help to do a pelvic rock exercise to strengthen the abdominal muscles. And a shoulder retraction exercise will help make it easier to hold the shoulders back.
Drs. Quintin and Katie Sleigh strongly recommend pregnant women see a chiropractor who has experience working with pregnant women in addition to using proper posture. It is very likely there will be misalignments and imbalances in the spine and pelvis with all of the changes that occur in a pregnant woman’s body. Chiropractors may help pregnant women have more comfortable pregnancies, ensure optimal development of the baby, and dec
rease the pain and duration of labor and delivery. Pregnancy chiropractic adjustments using the Webster Technique during pregnancy are very safe and gentle. For more information please visit our Pregnancy page. Drs. Quintin and Katie Sleigh of Arlington Heights, IL regularly help pregnant women avoid common aches and pains and help ensure proper position of baby using gentle chiropractic adjustments.
Photo credit to: reflexstock.com, ladyzona.com
