Pregnancy is arguably one of the most beautiful times in your life. But Aches and Pains are common during this time. Let’s explore the most common complaints in pregnancy and why they happen!
Your amazing body builds a baby from two cells in just a short nine months. Since we do have such a short gestational period our pregnant bodies change at a rapid rate. This swift change can cause aches, pains and discomfort in your changing body. Let’s take a deeper look at some of these changes and what can be done to improve comfort.
What are the Top 5 Complaints During Pregnancy?
The top five complaints that we see with expecting moms in our office are:
- Sciatica
- Low/Mid Back Pain
- Neck Pain
- Round Ligament Pain
- Heartburn
No that you know what the top complaints are, we will go over why they happen.
You may also be interested in: Coping with Anxiety During Pregnancy
The Reason We Experience Pain During Pregnancy
Posture:
Your posture is greatly modified when you are pregnant. As your belly grows forward and down it pulls on your low back. Your breasts are also growing throughout pregnancy.
This increased weight further places stress on your spine specifically your mid-back and neck. Your center of gravity (normally residing straight down over your pelvis) now moves forward. This forward pull can cause things such as sciatica, low/mid back pain, neck pain and muscle tightness.
Pelvis Widening:
As Baby grows in your pelvic basin, your pelvis naturally has to expand to accommodate Baby’s growth. When this widening happens; if the bones, muscles and ligaments of the pelvis are not properly aligned and balanced you may experience round ligament pain, tight hip flexors, pubis symphasis pain or hip pain.
Relaxin Hormone circulating your system:
Relaxin hormone is a hormone that loosens ligaments and joints and relaxes muscles. The effects of Relaxin are greatest in the pelvis but it does affect other areas of the body.
Are you experiencing heartburn? One cause of heartburn in pregnancy is from the Relaxin hormone. This dynamic hormone can affect your GI system by relaxing the sphincters allowing stomach acid to slip into the esophagus.
So what can be done to counteract these common pregnancy symptoms?
Specific Webster Chiropractic Adjustments:
Chiropractic adjustments are a safe and gentle way to properly align your spine and balance the muscles and ligaments of the pelvis.
When the spine is properly aligned it allows the nerves, even the ones that control your muscles for function like they should.
When the muscles are turned on they are able to help support your spine therefore taking some stress off of your joints.
In the case of sciatica there is oftentimes a misalignment in the lower back and pelvis putting undue tension on the sciatic nerve. When the low back and pelvis are aligned and the tension is removed your sciatic nerve is able to heal therefore diminishing pain and improving function.
The Webster technique includes pelvic adjustments, gentle round ligaments and psoas muscles release.
Webster chiropractic adjustments work to balance the pelvis for a more comfortable pregnancy and straightforward birth.
Stretching and Strengthening:
Stretching tightened muscles (ie. hip flexors, piriformis, pecs) and strengthening weakened muscles (ie. back extensors, pelvic floor, gluteal muscles) improves the function of the muscle and increases comfort. This Daily Activities list is wonderful to incorporate into your daily routine.
Digestive Aid:
With the hormone relaxin circulating your system you do not want food sitting undigested in your stomach for long. Oftentimes we hear that you should take pills to decrease your stomach acid if you have acid reflux however having low levels of stomach acid can actually cause acid reflux.
In this instance, when you have decreased stomach acid your food sits in your stomach longer before being broken down. The longer the food sits in your stomach the more time it has to ferment, this fermentation can cause acid reflux symptoms.
Adding apple cider vinegar to your diet can aid your stomach in digesting food, therefore, decreasing acid reflux symptoms.
The benefits of chiropractic care to mother and baby start with fewer aches and pains, easier labor and a healthy baby! Schedule your first visit with Dr. Lisa to see how she can help.