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Pregnant? A Visit to the Chiropractor May Help
Admin • January 6, 2020
Pregnancy is an exciting time for most pregnant women. And while pregnancy is a natural process, those 40 weeks of gestation aren’t without their difficulties. Everyday minor health issues, like a headache, can pose a challenge for the expectant woman as her usual coping method, such as popping an aspirin, are off-limits during pregnancy.
Thankfully, a chiropractor can often offer relief for some of the more comment pregnancy complaints. Here are two conditions that may warrant a prenatal visit to the chiropractor.
Morning Sickness
Nausea and vomiting are not uncommon, especially in the early weeks of pregnancy. According to the American Pregnancy Association, up to 85 percent of expecting women experience nausea alone and another 60-70 percent vomit as well.
The exact cause of morning sickness — which can actually occur any time of day — can vary. Changing hormones, such as elevated progesterone levels, may be largely to blame, but other factors, such as stress, fatigue, low blood sugar, and multiple fetuses can also exacerbate morning sickness.
Morning sickness typically stops by the third or fourth month of pregnancy. Most women experience mild nausea and vomiting that only poses an occasional inconvenience. If morning sickness is persistent or severe, doctors may prescribe prescription and over-the-counter medications to help control excessive nausea and vomiting.
However, many women are reluctant to take any drugs other than prenatal vitamins while they are pregnant, preferring to look for natural remedies instead. Unfortunately, so-called natural remedies can be just as potentially dangerous or even more so than prescribed medications.
If you are experiencing morning sickness that is interfering with your daily activities and are hesitant to take medication, ask your obstetrician about chiropractic care. Regular adjustments from a chiropractor offer a safe, drug-free alternative that may provide relief.
Sciatica
Most pregnant women expect to experience some back pain during pregnancy. In fact, anywhere from 50-80 percent of women experience back pain during pregnancy. After all, you are growing another human being and the added weight and pressure on your joints, ligaments, and bones is bound to cause occasional aches and pain.
The sciatic nerve largely controls the lower half of the human body. When it becomes compressed, pain can radiate down one side of your body from your upper buttock and down the back of your leg to your foot. This can cause considerable pain when you move. The pain may also cause a burning sensation or even weakness and numbness that can make sitting, standing, and walking difficult.
This is called sciatica. Sciatica is normally seen in people with lumbar spine problems, like a herniated disc, or bones changes in the spine like degenerative disc disease or osteoarthritis. Different pregnancy hormones can also result in sciatica. For example, relaxin is the hormone responsible for widening the hips and relaxing the pelvic bones and ligaments to allow a woman to deliver a baby vaginally.
Because the sciatic nerve passes under the uterus, the weight of the baby and the posture and other changes that occur during pregnancy can cause irritation to the nerve. Most obstetricians allow the use of acetaminophen, but if you are hesitant to take an over-the-counter pain reliever, consider alternative methods for dealing with your pain. Yoga, stretching, and physical therapy can be useful alternatives.
Another great option is chiropractic care and therapeutic massage. Repeated visits to the chiropractor as your pregnancy progresses and the baby grows can help reduce pressure on the sciatic nerve and lessen or even eliminate sciatica pain.
If you are pregnant and experiencing morning sickness, sciatic, or other issues you normally treat with medication, contact Davison Chiropractic today to schedule an appointment.
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Cold laser therapy, also called low-level laser therapy (LLLT) or low-power laser therapy (LPLT), is a non-surgical pain management treatment suitable for some patients who experience back and neck pain or certain injuries. Chiropractors and other health care professionals apply cold laser therapy to the pained or inflamed areas. The procedure uses a low-level laser that emits near-infrared light. The light from the laser is able to penetrate the skin and reach the body's deeper tissues. Once the tissues absorb the light, it interacts with the body's cells and speeds up the healing process. The laser light also helps reduce pain and swelling in damaged tissues. Uses Cold laser therapy is used primarily on patients who have chronic musculoskeletal pain. While the treatment works on different parts of the body for different injuries, like ligament and muscle strains, patients who have lasting lower back or neck pain often find relief from laser therapy. Cold laser therapy also helps patients who have arthritis, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, hip bursitis, and temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ). Procedure and Results A single treatment session of cold laser therapy is typically short. Most health care professionals who administer the treatment spend 30 seconds to several minutes holding the handheld laser over the affected areas. Treatment sessions that cover a large area, such as the entire lower back, take longer since the laser device will need to be moved around to target one smaller area at a time. The procedure isn't painful, and you won't feel any vibration or hear any noise. Some patients can feel the laser, but most do not report it as uncomfortable. There is no standard for the number and frequency of cold laser therapy treatments. How many sessions you'll need depends on the severity and type of your condition and how well previous treatment sessions work. You may have to wait several weeks to a month to see the full benefit of cold laser therapy, and some patients need to have several short sessions a week to get maximum relief. Cold laser therapy has been the subject of multiple studies that have shown generally favorable results, though many of the studies have small participant groups. This treatment is FDA-approved, so you know it’s safe and effective. Advantages and Disadvantages One of the biggest advantages of cold laser therapy is that it is a non-invasive treatment method. Since cold laser therapy doesn't lead to any downtime for healing, it can be a good treatment choice for patients who experience pain but have busy lifestyles. The therapy also doesn't involve the use of any medications, which makes it appealing to patients seeking drug-free ways to manage their pain. However, you can combine it with medications and other treatment methods to provide additional relief. The main disadvantage many patients report is that cold laser therapy doesn't work immediately. Most patients need multiple treatment sessions — as many as 30 — to see a significant reduction in inflammation and pain. Another downside to cold laser therapy is that some health insurance providers won't cover the cost of the treatment. But some health care practitioners offer billing or payment plans to help patients afford the cost of the treatment. Risks Cold laser therapy is approved for use by the FDA, and it is considered safe for most patients. The treatment has very few side effects and is tolerated very well by most people. Testing on pregnant women is lacking, so pregnant women shouldn't have cold laser therapy. People who have open sores, suspicious moles, or cancerous lesions shouldn't expose their skin to lasers. Davison Chiropractic offers chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and pain management treatments to patients in Davison and Lapeer, Michigan and the surrounding areas. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.
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