Friday, January 29, 2010

Chiro's for Prego's



Ahhh, the chiropractor.
I never thought of going to the chiropractor before becoming pregnant. I never had any body or joint pains that bothered me that much. Sure, there was a running injury here and there, but nothing I felt needed chiro attention.

At the beginning of my 2nd trimester, I became immobile. I was aware of the relaxin hormone and what it does to a pregnant body, but I had no idea the pain it could cause. It started out as just aching hips and trouble getting up from a seated or laying position. For weeks, I was on the verge of tears several times throughout the day. Then, it got so bad that I would get stuck in mid stride while out walking. The last straw was when I got stuck getting up from the toilet. I was in so much pain that I had to have my husband help get me out of the bathroom and into bed.

I had been reading up on some other women's experiences getting adjusted while pregnant. Some needed pain relief, others wanted to adjust the position of the baby toward the end of pregnancy. I spoke to my midwife and she recommended a chiropractor that dealt with pregnant women.
I hobbled into the office for my first visit. There was a consultation followed by a few minutes on the roller bed. I don't know the technical term for it, but it's basically a heated bed with rollers underneath used to loosen you up. It was relaxing. After that, the chiro assessed me to see what type of adjustments I would need. Then, he got started and snap, crackle, pop we were done. It was an odd experience, but after about 20 minutes, I felt so much better. As the day went on, I felt even better. The next day, I was like a new woman! There was still some soreness, but nothing like I had been experiencing. Keep in mind, everyone has a different reaction to a chiro visit and may need more than one adjustment.

I am now in my 3rd trimester and just went back for an adjustment last week. I was starting to get stuck walking again and had been dealing with sciatica. http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/sciatica/pregnancy-back-pain-sciatica
Once again, I'm feeling like a new woman. This time however, I could not tolerate the roller bed. Since the 2nd tri, I can only lay on my back for a couple of minutes and all that motion was making me sick. So, he used some other techniques to loosen me up before the adjustment.

Mama's, please don't spend your pregnancy in pain. If you haven't already and you feel you need to, go see a chiropractor. Just make sure you check with your health care provider and find someone who works with pregnant women.

5 comments:

TTLOVE218 said...

This is too late for me but I did get to have a series of adjustments after I had my child because my spine was so out of whack that I was in a lot of pain. It is good that you got to get adjusted and not suffer with the pain.

ryanesha said...

Ummm. A chiro hu. I know you told me you'd gone once before, but Im still wierded out about them. Im glad your adjusted and feel better. Did he also do the cave man tap on your forehead with a little hammer to get you mentally prepared for child birth. Now thats a whole other experience

CraftyEarthMama said...

TTLOVE, I'm so sorry you had to suffer through, but that's great an adjustment helped afterward.
I truly never heard of seeing a chiro throughout pregnancy until I was pregnant.
I hope the message get's around to all expectant Mama's!

CraftyEarthMama said...

Nesh, you are so silly. No, I didn't get tapped on the head and don't recommend anybody getting that treatment!
Watch, your next pregnancy your going to be going to a chiro from the very beginning. I wouldn't be surprised if your already planning a homebirth as well. :)

Unknown said...

oh Im all over home births. If I had insurance that covered that for both of my kids, I would have stayed home before. If I have more kids, home births are still an option next to a birthing center.