While most women know that they are suffering low back pain during their pregnancy as it progresses, they often do not realize it can get worse afterwards.
In fact, they can develop a special disease called Osteitis Condensans Ilii. It means that the sacro iliac joints become arthritic because of the instability created by the oxytocin that helps loosen the ligaments to open up the birth canal.
Chiropractic treatment is one of the best ways to manage this pain since women should not be taking drugs when they are pregnant. A study revealed that 94% of women experience some form of back pain during pregnancy and that it continues in 75% of these women studied after giving birth. In spite of reporting pain, only a much smaller percentage were not able to perform normal activities of daily living. However, just because you can manage to put away the groceries doesn’t mean you should suffer needlessly.
It is a shame that most M.D.’s are not going to recommend safe and effective chiropractic treatment when they know their patients are suffering and cannot utilize their treatment regimens for pain, which is drugs.
As the uterus expands the center of gravity shifts and that places more pressure on the spinal discs. If they expand to where they are just lightly touching the nerves in the low back you can develop excruciating sciatica. Sciatica is successfully treated with chiropractic care in people whether pregnant or not. Most sciatic cases, even the severe ones, do not require surgery. It all depends upon how bad the nerves are being compressed. Most of the women I’ve treated for low back pain when pregnant did not have sciatic symptoms, but were almost always significantly improved after the first adjustment.
