If you are pregnant and
suffering from low back pain, a neighbor or a friend has probably suggested you
visit a Salt Lake Chiropractor because a chiropractor was able to help them during their
pregnancy. The discussion probably left you curious, is that good advice or
just a single success story? Additionally, you may be wondering whether
chiropractic is safe during pregnancy and how much low back pain improvement
the average pregnant woman can expect to get.
After looking at several scientific publications on these exact
topics, the appropriate conclusion seems to be that “chiropractic evaluation
and treatment during pregnancy may be considered a safe and effective means of
treating common musculoskeletal symptoms that affect pregnant patients. The
scarcity of published literature warrants further research.” (Borggren, 2007)
So basically the answers are:
·
Yes, chiropractic
is safe during pregnancy.
·
Yes, chiropractic
helps common musculoskelatal problems during pregnancy (including back pain).
·
Your friends experience isn’t just one woman’s
story. Many women are finding relief and the results are being sporadically
published in medical journals too.
·
More research under more controlled conditions
is needed for the purposes of educating primary care physicians and
obstetricians about chiropractic care during pregnancy.
Here are a few additional details about the prevalence of low
back pain during pregnancy and the number of women being referred for treatment.
·
57 – 69% of women complain of low back pain
during pregnancy
·
Only about 32% of women report these symptoms to
their primary doctor
·
Only about 25% of primary doctors recommend
seeking treatment for the pain.
Clearly this is a big problem with 2 in 3 having
pregnancy-related back pain. Also a big problem is that they are generally not
talking to their obstetricians and primary care physicians about it and that
these professionals are not referring them to effective treatment options.
Chiropractic treatments can be quite effective for
pregnancy-related back pain with just a few visits for the majority of women
seeking help. In a small study of 17 women:
·
Sixteen of 17 (94%) saw clinically important
improvements in low back pain with chiropractic care.
·
The average pain rating went down from 5.9 to
1.5 (on a scale of 0 to 10).
·
It took an average of 1.8 visits and 4.5 days to
get clinically important pain relief.
We hope this article gave you hope that many pregnant women do
get significant, rapid relief from low back pain. If you are currently pregnant
with low back pain, you probably have many questions not answered by this
article. Perhaps you’ve never had chiropractic care before or you want to know
how we adjust our techniques to work with pregnant patients. The best way to
get answers to your questions is with an initial consultation. The only way for
us to know whether you are a good candidate is for you to come see us, so call
for an initial appointment today.
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